Book Review

Title: Instructional Materials for Teaching Sociology & Disability Studies

Authors: Lynn Schlesinger & Diane E. Taub (Eds.)

Publisher: American Sociological Association (ASA), 2004, 340 pages

Cost: $18.00 USD (ASA member) or $22.00 USD (non-member). Orders by phone can be made by calling call (202) 383-9005 x389 or at:
http://www.e-noah.net/asa/asashoponlineservice/ProductDetails.aspx?productID=ASAOE367D04

Reviewer: Heng-hao Chang

      This second edition of Instructional Materials for Teaching Sociology & Disability Studies is a collection of syllabi and articles related to teaching disability studies and sociology. As an interdisciplinary field, disability studies can trace some of its theoretical roots to sociology, drawing on works such as ParsonsÕ classic work on the Òsick role,Ó in The Social System (1951) and GoffmanÕs Asylums (1961) and Stigma (1968). On the other hand, disability has been an issue of sociological inquiry in subfields such as medical sociology, deviance, social problems, social welfare and social policy, as well as recent studies of new social movements, identity politics, and the sociology of body. Nevertheless, a sociological course focusing solely on disability issues is fairly new. Sponsored by the American Sociological Association (ASA) committee on the status of persons with disabilities, this edited volume intends to promote disability issues in existing courses as well as the development of new courses on disabilities.
      
      Considering the interdisciplinary and diverse nature of the field, Schlesinger and Taub collected materials from several resources including Footnotes, the newsletter of ASA; the Society for Disability Studies email listserv, and personal contacts. Courses taught by sociologists, listed in sociology department catalogs and disability studies courses with a sociological focus were included.
      
      The volume is divided into eight sections. Section I explains the rationale of editing this volume and its structure. Section II contains several articles which advocate the significance of disability studies. Section III covers syllabi from disability studies courses, other interdisciplinary courses, and courses taught outside the United States. Section IV reproduces syllabi for courses that focus on disability from a sociological perspective. Section V includes syllabi for courses that combine disability studies with other fields such as health, gender, and social policy. Section VI selects articles and syllabi for courses in sociology, such as social problems and politics and sociology of deviance that address disability issues. Section VII presents a variety of assignments such as library research, film, and video projects. Section VIII provides relevant references for teaching disability.
      
      Schlesinger and Taub successfully organize course syllabi to present different ways of incorporating disability studies and sociology. Although Instructional Materials for Teaching Sociology & Disability Studies is mainly written for instructors who are interested in disability studies and sociology, anyone who is interested in teaching disability studies or related issues at the collegiate level and above will find this edited volume helpful. The section on exercises and assignments in particular will help instructors plan different class activities and make their collegiate level class more interesting. Students in disability studies will also find rich resources in this volume. In addition, readers can grasp a sense of the history of the development of disability studies and sociology.
      
      To create a new topic in an established academic discipline is not easy. Since the American Sociological Association formally accepted the section application of Disability and Society in 2007, this volume will become a useful tool for every sociology department to develop courses on disabilities and to include disability issues into existing courses.
    
References

Goffman, E. (1961). Asylums: Essays on the social situation of mental patients and other inmates. Chicago: Aldine.

Goffman, E. (1968). Stigma: Notes on the management of spoiled identity. Englewood Cliff, NJ: Prentice-Hall. 

Parsons, T. (1951). The social system. New York: Free Press.

Heng-hao Chang, Ph.D., is Assistant Professor at Department of Sociology, Nanhua University, specializing in Sociology of Disability, Social Movement, Political Sociology and Medical Sociology. He may be contacted at:

No.32, Chung Keng Li, Dalin Chia-Yi, 622, Taiwan
TEL: 886-2-5-2721001 EXT 5309 
FAX: 886-2-5-2427150
EMAIL: henghao@mail.nhu.edu.tw, henghaoc@gmail.com