Disabled People Transforming Media Culture for a More Inclusive World

A vital love letter to disability media that doesn’t just consider the limits of disability representation but gazes fondly at future possibilities. Engaging directly with disabled media creators, and backed up with important historical context, Haller offers a deep exploration into why new media platforms can offer exciting opportunities for mass audiences to hear different disability stories.

Jeff Preston, PhD, Assistant Professor, Disability Studies, King’s University College, Western University

"This book is truly a tour de force, combining theoretical and empirical research to map a broad and diverse spectrum of disability and media. Haller’s skill to synthesise historical, social, cultural, political and economic layers of disability media creation and representation is unprecedented. The reading experience is enriched by each chapter focusing on a different media genre and deploying a different theoretical approach. Its interdisciplinary poise thus benefits a variety of disciplines, such as disability studies, media studies, anthropology and media practice-led research. Most importantly, the writing is engaging and accessible, embodying the same kind of inclusivity its content advocates for."

Catalin Brylla, Principal Lecturer in Film TV, Bournemouth University, UK

With her decades of experience writing about disability issues as a journalist, in addition to her academic career in communication studies, Beth Haller is the preeminent scholar and chronicler of disabled people’s uses of mass, print, and digital media—as creators, consumers, and critics—for their social, cultural, and political advancement. This book adeptly combines up-to-date examples with fresh takes on communication theory to offer readers unexpected insights into the past, present, and future of disability representation on-screen and online.

Meryl Alper, Ph.D, Associate Professor of Communication Studies, Northeastern University, Boston, Mass.