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Bringing the Body Back: Adults with Developmental Disabilities, Resistance, and Independence
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- Author / Creator
- Herzog, Kathleen Y
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In this thesis, I engage with the following research problem: how the body can practically, theoretically, and comprehensively be brought back into conversations of disability, while simultaneously acknowledging the agency (vis-à-vis independence) of individuals with disabilities as well as social factors. To address this problem, I interviewed Edmontonian adults with developmental disabilities who were part of the Persons with Developmental Disabilities Program (PDD). Additionally, I use Deleuze and Guattari’s theory of the body-without-organs (BwO), or body-self, to demonstrate that although use of the medical model of disability (by PDD and others) seeks to pathologize and medicalize (territorialize) this study’s participants, they attempted to resist this territorialization in their everyday lives through their relations with assistive designs and devices, medical procedures, family, and support staff. While participants were unfamiliar with “autonomy,” they were at ease with the term independence, which had unique meanings for them based on personal experiences and relationships.
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- Graduation date
- Spring 2015
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- Type of Item
- Thesis
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- Degree
- Master of Arts
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- License
- This thesis is made available by the University of Alberta Libraries with permission of the copyright owner solely for non-commercial purposes. This thesis, or any portion thereof, may not otherwise be copied or reproduced without the written consent of the copyright owner, except to the extent permitted by Canadian copyright law.