Graduation Year

2022

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree

Ph.D.

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)

Degree Granting Department

Sociology

Major Professor

Sara E. Green, Ph.D.

Committee Member

Donileen Loseke, Ph.D.

Committee Member

Maralee Mayberry, Ph.D.

Committee Member

Lori Roscoe, Ph.D.

Keywords

disability, inclusion, narratives, organizational narratives, personal narratives, stigma

Abstract

This dissertation explores the relationship between disability and art in individual and organizational narratives told in the context of art programs that are designed to provide meaningful and inclusive experiences for people with disabilities outside of “art therapy.” Findings of narrative and thematic analysis of the websites of two non-profit disability centered arts education organizations, autobiographical sketches of disabled artists, and in-depth family history interviews with parents of people with disabilities suggest that the clear cut boxes created by scholarly and social movements narratives of disability do not map neatly onto the lived experiences of people with disabilities, their families, or the organizations that serve them. Rather, both organizational and personal narratives about disability and the arts examined for this dissertation were characterized by messiness and overlapping goals. For example, in attempting to empower artists with disabilities while also justifying the need for funding and services, the organizations cast themselves as sidekicks to heroic disabled artists engaged in the fight against the villains of inaccessibility and stigma. This is a more complex story than the traditional narrative of service organizations as heroes in the service of people victimized by the villain of disability itself. Individuals with disabilities, and their parents, also often used a complex mix of narratives, including aspects consistent with the medical, social, and crip/cyborg models of disability. The use of multiple narratives by people and organizations points to a need for more complex understandings of disability, art, and the relationship between the two in order to create meaningful social change for disabled people and their families. People with disabilities consistently engage with the arts for many complex reasons. A simplistic assumption that the primary role of art for people with disabilities is therapeutic demeans the talent and artistic contributions of disabled artists, and masks other benefits that participation in the arts by people with disabilities can provide to individuals and communities. Just as art can take many unique forms, people with disabilities relate to art in a variety of ways.

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