Ableist Rhetoric

Ableist Rhetoric: How We Know, Value, and See Disability is a scholarly examination of systemic discrimination within Western culture. In volume 1 of this study, James L. Cherney applies a rhetorical approach to sociology and disability studies to explain how ableism is learned and transmitted through language. The text analyzes how society elevates able bodies while marginalizing those perceived as less capable, filling a critical gap in the study of social discrimination.

Through specific case studies, the author identifies three rhetorical norms that influence religion, medicine, law, and sport. By examining texts ranging from Aristotle to modern legal cases, Ableist Rhetoric explores the dangerous assumptions that deviance is evil, normality is natural, and the body must be able. This work provides a new rhetorical model to challenge the ideological and visual components of discrimination against people with disabilities.