Abstract
This chapter examines the nature of discourse in the social sciences, and its relationship to disability and special education in the context of the work of the French historian of ideas Michel Foucault. I look at several attempts to explore discourse in relation to disability and special education.
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Key texts
Foucault, M. ([1975]/1991) Discipline and Punish: The Birth of the Prison New York, NY and London, Penguin Books (Translated from the French by Allan Sheridan).
A vividly written interpretation of developments in penology before and after the Enlightenment. The perspective of ‘discipline’ extends to schools and other institutions.
Further reading
Allan, J. (1996) ‘Foucault and special educational needs: a ‘box of tools’ for analysing children’s experiences of mainstreaming’ Disability and Society 11, 2, 219–233.
One of the few attempts to relate some of Foucault’s ideas directly to special education.
Corbett, J. (1996) Bad Mouthing: The Language of Special Needs London, Routledge.
A book exploring discourses of special education and their interaction with other discourses.
Tremain, S. (2002) ‘On the subject of impairment’ in Corker, M. and Shakespeare, T. (Eds) Disability/Postmodernity: Embodying Disability Theory London, Continuum.
Concerns the nature of the ‘subject’ (individual).
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© 2014 Michael Farrell
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Farrell, M. (2014). Immersed in Language: Discourse. In: Investigating the Language of Special Education. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137434715_8
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137434715_8
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, London
Print ISBN: 978-1-349-49304-3
Online ISBN: 978-1-137-43471-5
eBook Packages: Palgrave Language & Linguistics CollectionEducation (R0)