For most of the twentieth century, people with disabilities havebeen regarded as 'victims' of their condition and a 'burden' onsociety. More recently, however, disabled people and theirorganizations across Europe and North America have challengedconventional explanations for their individual and collectivedisadvantage, calling for policy measures to change the image andstatus of disabled people in the Western world. In this new book, Barnes and Mercer provide a concise andaccessible introduction to the concept of disability. Drawing on aburgeoning 'disability studies' literature from around the world,and from a range of disciplinary perspectives, the authors explorethe evolution of this concept and offer a wide-ranging critique ofestablished academic, policy and professional orthodoxies. The bookhighlights disabled peoples' exclusion and marginalization in keyareas of social activity and participation across differenthistorical and cultural contexts, such as family life andreproduction, education, employment, leisure, cultural imagery andpolitics. The analysis concentrates on disability as a distinctive form ofsocial oppression similar to that experienced by women, minorityethnic and 'racial' groups, and lesbians and gay men. Key issuesaddressed include: theorizing disability; historical andcomparative perspectives; experiencing impairment and disability;professional and policy intervention in the lives of disabledpeople; disability politics, social policy and citizenship; anddisability culture. This will be essential reading for those studying sociology, socialpolicy, social work, health studies, disability studies, and thosein the therapy and nursing professions.