Ableism, Microaggressions and the Law

Studies in Ableism (SiA) is now a recognised sub-specialism of critical disability studies and focuses on ways that abledment (the process of being/becoming ‘abled’) is located within societal processes and practices. Temporality, place and context are significant for the formation of bodies and populations marked as ‘abled’, and the remnant sometimes marked as ‘disabled’. Law, along with medicine has played a crucial role in shaping legal regimes and public policy discourses around disability and liveability.

This project seeks PhD candidates who are interested in investigating the formation a jurisprudence of disability within common law and civil law systems. This project could be in criminal law (the disabled subject as a witness, victim or perpetrator in sexual offences), civil law (negligence or torts), welfare or administrative law (social insurance, benefit systems) or mental health law (disabled subjects of incarceration, consent and restraint), post-conflict reconciliation, to name a few areas. The research could be sited as historical, contemporary, comparative or cover all three domains.

This project would suit PhD students from social sciences (law, legal studies, politics, management studies, sociology), and community learning & development.

Our research community thrives on the diversity of students and staff which helps to make the University of Dundee a UK university of choice for postgraduate research. We welcome applications from all talented individuals and are committed to widening access to those who have the ability and potential to benefit from higher education.

Diversity statement

Our research community thrives on the diversity of students and staff which helps to make the University of Dundee a UK university of choice for postgraduate research.  We welcome applications from all talented individuals and are committed to widening access to those who have the ability and potential to benefit from higher education.