Scholars have long recognized the media’s role in shaping and reflecting the way we see the world, ourselves, and others. In particular, they have understood that the media plays a vital part in the social and cultural construction of disability. Moreover, as new types of media proliferate, and become increasingly important in our daily lives, addressing the sometimes difficult questions surrounding the relationship between disability and the media is more important than ever. In particular, what is the media’s role in the disablement of people with impairments and can it also act as a powerful agent of change? And how are attitudes towards people with disabilities constantly reinscribed through media such as television, film, and the Internet?

Now, this new four-volume collection from Routledge’s acclaimed Critical Concepts in Media and Cultural Studies series enables users readily to access and make sense of the essential texts of disability-and-media scholarship. The collection is organized into four principal parts: Disability and the Mass Media; Disability and Film; Disability and Popular Culture; and Disability, the Internet, and New Media.

Fully indexed and with an introduction newly written by the editors, Disability and the Media is an indispensable reference resource for researchers and students.