Connor, David J.

"The Disability Studies in Education Annual Conference: Explorations of

Working Within, and Against, Special Education." Disability Studies Quarterly 34.2 (2014): n.
pag. Web. 24 Aug. 2014. http://dsq-sds.org/article/view/4257/3597
In his article, Connor discusses the founding of the Disability Studies in Education field
and conference as a means of further expanding on Disability Studies. He begins by stating his
role in the special education system and how it was found lacking in terms of disability law. He
then goes on to explain the founding of the Disability Studies in Education conference and how a
way to fix the problems of isolated special education students was to incorporate them into the
mainstream via inclusion. Connor further explains the newness of Disability Studies in
Education (DSE) as a field and how one of the goals is to redefine disability from a medical and
legal standpoint to a cultural and social one.
Connor lists the themes for each conference since its founding to show development as
well as questions pertaining to how the conference can best serve individuals with disabilities as
an alternative to special education. The author also gives a snapshot of one of the conferences
and the questions scholars posited, the answers following the alternative to special education,
changing the definition of disability, and how the conference can continue to research the field
without the stigmatization of the past. Connor states that while the conference has been a
success, growth has not been as high as expected, which resulted in deeper discussion and
questioning of what the conference does to draw new people in, keep their interest, and what
their plans are for the future, as well as how Disability Studies and Disability Studies in
Education can influence one another.
Connors article on Disability Studies in Education is effectively stated as a process of
growth within the already established field of Disability Studies and is made clear that inclusion
in the classroom is a more effective means of education rather than the current special education
setup in the public school system. While there is no specific theory of criticism shown, the
meaning is nevertheless made clear. The article is organized in chronological order, and more indepth information, such as the posited questions are listed and discussed under subheadings.
Connor cites other scholars of Disability Studies briefly and references their works as a means of
placing authority to the article itself and how there are many questions that still need to be
addressed; he also lists his references alphabetically.
I was challenged in this article in that I had never thought of the special education system
not working. Since education today is focusing on inclusion of all students, including this with
disabilities, naturally, this article did as well. Personally, I am on the fence about inclusion. I
think it depends on the disability on whether or not the individual needs to be mainstreamed.
From the perspective of belonging, inclusion doesnt always work with students with special
needs, especially if they are the only one in their classes, I agree with it to the extent that the rest
of the population needs to become comfortable with students who are differently abled.
The reason I will be using this article as a part of my thesis, is that it brought up questions
about special education that I had not thought of before. I also found a quote at the end that I
think could be beneficial to my project: Realism is recognizing the current world we live in;
idealism is what we imagine and strive toward; and activism is a means between them. The
other aspect of the article that I definitely agreed with was changing the definition of disability
and the view of it away from medical, legal, and psychological terms to historical, cultural, and
social terms. I have already noticed in myself a growing discomfort with the terminology used to
describe individuals with disabilities, and this article confirmed that I am not the only one who

has these feelings and who is willing to work towards a better understanding of what it means to
be a person who has differences in that manner.