Health, Ethics and Law (HEAL) Research Seminar Seminar

‘Decolonising disability studies: Conceptualising disability justice from an African relational community ideal’

A decolonial perspective is key to unlock the potential of neglected intellectual resources from Africa and the global south. Although some literature has considered the transformative potential of a decolonised field of disability studies, little attention has been paid to disability justice. In a modest attempt to fill this gap, I conceptualise disability justice from an African relational community ideal. In this decolonial reading, disability justice is defined as an obligation-based concept, which is necessary to respond to a range of injustices suffered by people with disabilities in Africa. In doing so, I consider how the core obligation to assist the poor, needy or vulnerable in African philosophy can be mobilised against a range of disability injustices. In the course of this argument, I will show that the concept of obligation is generally under-theorised in disability justice scholarship. In conclusion, I argue that an African-inspired approach to disability justice sheds new light on what it means to prioritise human obligations ahead of and beyond human rights.

Where: event held in room 04/4003 + online (see link below)

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