Disability Inclusion: Re-envisaging Solidarity with Deaf People and Persons with Disability
Kristine C. Meneses, PhD
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Abstract

It is with little dispute that Deaf people and Persons with Disabilities are considered to be some of the vulnerable groups in society. We are made aware of their predicaments through documentaries and short films. But their experience of exclusion, demand for recognition of their rights, and change in the system are seldom tackled in academia, more so in the field of theology. In this respect, this article attempts to address this gap by rethinking vulnerability. I would argue that the current perception of the Church and society about Deaf people and PWDs as vulnerable has enabled ableism in our consciousness. With this, I believe that employing Judith Butler’s view on the precarity of vulnerability in the Othering (/exclusionary) experiences of Deaf people and PWDs could pave a way for a shift of paradigm in the Church and society from seeing them as welfare recipients to collaborators and contributors. When that happens, we can claim that disability inclusion is indeed a reality.

Year Published
2022
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