Access Activism. The Politicization of Wheelchairs and Wheelchair Users in the Twentieth Century

  • For millions of disabled people around the world the wheelchair has been one of the most important technological innovations of the twentieth century. From its inception as a relatively cumbersome, heavy machine, designed principally for indoor use, the wheelchair has evolved into a sophisticated and highly technical mode of transport. Wheelchairs are, at least in the Global North, relatively widely used and universally recognizable – so recognizable that they have become the cultural symbol to represent all disabled people. Wheelchairs are often viewed with trepidation: as machines that disable, confine, and deprive their occupant of independence – as medical devices that doctors prescribe only to the sick, the wounded or the elderly. Such definitions and perceptions infiltrate the public lives of wheelchair users, cause considerable macro and micro political difficulties, and consequently disable users in a myriad of different ways.

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Metadaten
Author:Nicholas WatsonORCiDGND
URL:https://zeithistorische-forschungen.de/2-2022/6058
DOI:https://doi.org/10.14765/zzf.dok-2432
Parent Title (English):Zeithistorische Forschungen – Studies in Contemporary History
Publisher:ZZF – Centre for Contemporary History: Zeithistorische Forschungen
Place of publication:Potsdam
Document Type:Journal Article
Language:English
Date of Publication (online):2022/12/20
Date of first Publication:2022/12/20
Release Date:2022/12/20
Volume:19
Issue:2
First Page:367
Last Page:379
ZZF Chronological-Classification:20. Jahrhundert
1945-
1900-1945
ZZF Topic-Classification:Alltag
Soziales
Politik
Körper
Kommunikation
Technik
Materielle Kultur
Raum
Architektur
Bildung und Universitäten
Medizin
Gesundheit
Menschenrechte
Planung
Infrastruktur
Soziale Bewegungen
Protest
Städte
ZZF Regional-Classification:Europa
Amerika
Amerika / Nordamerika
Amerika / Nordamerika / USA
regional übergreifend
Europa / Westeuropa / Großbritannien
Web-Publications:Zeithistorische Forschungen
Studies in Contemporary History: Articles:2 / 2022 Disability History
Licence (English):License LogoCreative Commons - Namensnennung-Weitergabe unter gleichen Bedingungen 4.0 International (CC BY-SA 4.0)