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American Pragmatism, Sociology and the Development of Disability Studies
field is dependent on historical context, experience, intellectual
tradition, culture and the political economic system. The development
of disability studies, then, should be examined and understood
in context. I will do this by discussing how pragmatism and
American sociology influenced the development of disability studies
in the United States and directly or indirectly addressed the six
contentious questions posed above. First, I will consider how
pragmatism shaped American thought, social policy and view of the
world. Second, I will show how pragmatism combined with the
early development of American sociology, including survey
research and the social area studies and interactionism of the
Chicago School, to provide a framework and method for addressing
disability issues. Third, I will analyze how the disability movement
organized, exerted political influence in the American context and
shaped disability studies as a field. Fourth, I will consider how
disability studies in the United States was influenced by the
political economy, embodying the American values of rugged
individualism, capitalism and democracy. Finally, I will reflect on
the future directions of American disability studies.
American Pragmatism
Pragmatism is a diverse philosophy that has had a pervasive
influence on American social science and subsequently on disability
studies. Pragmatism is a style of philosophy initiated by Charles
Sanders PIERCE (1839-1914) and William JAMES (1842-1910)
which deeply influenced the work of DEWEY (1859-1952),
SCHILLER (1908) and MEAD (1964) in the early twentieth century
and the more recent contemporary philosophical work of SELLARS
(1973), QUINE (1969), PUTNAM (1978), RORTY (1979; 1991),
HAACK (1993) and WEST (1999). Since the tenets of this work
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