Philosophy of disability: A snapshot bibliography-Book edition

I’m doing it. You asked for a bibliography on philosophy of disability, so I have delivered! But, of course, I had to do it my way. There is no possible way I could come up with an exhaustive list (well, there could be a way, but it’s not free), and, honestly, what’s the point of doing that if the most likely reaction will be tl;dr? So, instead, I have devised a multi-course tasting menu for your edification and delight. Today, we will be starting with the Book Course.

I’m currently in production for my upcoming long COVID research podcast, “Massively Disabled”, which means I am elbow-deep into what I’m calling “snapshot methodology”. I want to practice sharing my process, or giving an insight into my idiosyncratic intellectual labour in the hope that it might give you food for thought. There are many more books out there that are relevant to philosophy of disability, some of which I have read, some of which I have not (yet). But today’s menu reflects a slice in this philosopher’s life. I just wanted to share!

Note: Every title includes an affiliate link to Bookshop.org UK. If you make a purchase through any of those links I will receive a small contribution.

Currently reading

• Crip Colony: Mestizaje, US Imperialism, and the Queer Politics of Disability in the Philippines

  by Sony Coráñez Bolton

  https://uk.bookshop.org/a/6239/9781478019565

  Shout-out to Jess Rauchberg for putting this book on my radar! As a Filipinx mestiza currently grappling with the wild possibilities and dark complexities of a “mestizaje praxis”, this book is teaching me so much and forcing me to ask myself some tough questions. I love that journey for me.

• Activist Affordances: How Disabled People Improvise More Habitable Worlds

  by Arseli Dokumaci

  https://uk.bookshop.org/a/6239/9781478019244

  Jess makes an appearance again as a book recommender... You should all follow her on Bluesky! She has great takes. But, also, Dokumaci is arguing for “disability as method” and, as a self-proclaimed methodology queen (TM “Maintenance Phase” hosts, Michael Hobbes and Aubrey Gordon), this is my song and I need to go out there and dance.

• Politiques de l’inimitié (Necropolitics)

  by Achille Mbembe

  https://uk.bookshop.org/a/6239/9781478006510

  It takes me a lot of energy to read philosophy in different languages because it not only does it require my brain to switch linguistically, it is switching culturally. But, as a “read the primary text in its original language”-trained philo girlie, I had to reach for the original version of “Necropolitics”, which, interestingly, is how “Politics of enmity” was translated. Hmm.

Currently referencing for writing

• The Right to Maim

  by Jasbir K. Puar

  https://uk.bookshop.org/a/6239/9780822369189

  Duke University Press should hire me as an ambassador solely based on the number of times I have recommended this book (but really, I recommend DUP books a lot; hire me). Puar’s main argument that we should use the biopolitical concept of “debility” in discussions of disability, queerness, and settler colonialism is unrivalled. Please pick this up if you are at all interested in any or all of the following: Palestine-Israel relations, settler colonialism, disability, homonationalism, narratives of progress, category-smashing, and biopolitical embodiment.

• Disability Studies and the Environmental Humanities: Toward an Eco-Crip Theory

  edited by Sarah Jaquette Ray and Jay Sibara

  https://uk.bookshop.org/a/6239/9781496204950

• Care Work: Dreaming Disability Justice

  by Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha

  https://uk.bookshop.org/a/6239/9781551527383

  This work is foundational in so many ways. I am still mulling over the idea of “care as violence” in institutional settings but also in mutual aid relationships. A rich text in the best way.

• The Future is Disabled: Prophecies, Love Notes, and Mourning Soungs

  by Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha

  https://uk.bookshop.org/a/6239/9781551528915

  The title of this books is a phrase coined by disability elder and scholar Alice Wong and it shines bright despite its cloak of apparent threat. This book clearly explains, among other things, how disabiled mutual aid during the social upheaval caused by COVID-19 really has nothing to do with unidirectional care that ableds dole out when they feel like it. Poignant, radical, and a source for so much of my writing and communications.

Current “Massively Disabled” podcast research

• Defectives in the Land: Disability and Immigration in the Age of Eugenics

  by Douglas C. Baynton

  https://uk.bookshop.org/a/6239/9780226758633

  I’m reading this slowly because

  1) it’s fascinating and I want to take my time, and

  2) it’s about eugenics and I need to take mental health breathers

  Although I’m focusing on eugenics in the British context, this book has made me reflect actively on the intertwined construction of the categories of “disability” and “race” when it comes to eugenic policies. I highly recommend it.

• Metagnosis: Revelatory Narratives of Health and Identity

  by Danielle Spencer

  https://uk.bookshop.org/a/6239/9780197510766

  This is another book I keep raving about, mostly because it revolutionised how I think of methodology as an ontology. Danielle Spencer does an amazing job at “showing, not/and telling” what she means by metagnosis as an epistemic and existential process of knowing. If you are intrigued, you can listen to my interview with Danielle here: Metagnosis and Narrative Medicine w/Danielle Spencer

• Outbreaks & Pandemics: Fighting Infection, from Smallpox to Coronavirus

  by Meera Senthilingam

  https://uk.bookshop.org/a/6239/9781785789670

  I’m in the business of scholarly communication, which means it’s part of my praxis to consult books aimed at the “general public”. What is out there for people to consume when it comes to pandemics and epidemics? How is the history of science being presented? What can I learn, both content-wise and form-wise, from this book?

• How to Survive a Plague: The Story of How Activists and Scientists Tamed AIDS

  by David France

  https://uk.bookshop.org/a/6239/9781509839407

  As a child of the 90s, I don’t think I realised how much of my life was shaped by the fear of HIV/AIDS until recently. Now, as a disabled philosopher interested in relational agency and the epistemic authority of disabled and chronically ill people, I need to learn more about how the scientific goals related to the treatment of this epidemic were shaped by patients, carers, and their queer communities.

• Scholarly Podcasting: Why, What, How?

  by Ian M. Cook

  https://uk.bookshop.org/a/6239/9780367439446

  Last but not least, it’s my duty to keep up to date on scholarly podcasting! This book is bringing me so much joy and I return to it whenever I’m feeling doubt about whether or not “Massively Disabled” is worthwhile. To be clear, I know its valuable, but I am also v exhausted. So it’s nice to have this book as a space for recreation.