Disability, rehabilitation and social control: a foucauldian perspective

Rehabilitation is a concept that embodies all of the key elements of the social construction and constitution of disability. It is embedded within rehabilitation that individuals must attain productivity through the disciplines that stem from 'employment' and adhering to a 'regular work timetable'; it works to govern individuals at a distance by immersing them in a field of 'helping' and 'professional' expertise which serves to 'help' guide their aims and actions, and it is representative of the imperative placed on each and every citizen of advanced liberal democracies to strive to emulate 'the norm'. Utilizing a Foucauldian genealogical perspective, this essay argues that the concept of rehabilitation has been historically employed as a strategic mechanism for greater social control and governance of individuals with disabilities by practices of 'normalization' and 'adjustment' via the diffuse network of 'power relations' fundamental to contemporary social liberal societies such as Australia.

Sociology Of Disability ,

Rehabilitation ,

Social Model ,

Foucault ,

Governance ,

Social Control ,