This important reference work maps the terrain of disability across the world by providing an overview of issues, concerns and developments in the domains of society, culture, medicine, law, policy, justice, education, economics, and science and technology. It is a truly inclusive volume bringing together perspectives from researchers, activists, professionals, service providers, international development experts and policymakers based in the global North and South, and it particularly focuses on the voices of the principal stakeholders---disabled persons themselves.

Working from an interdisciplinary matrix, this book reviews historical developments, contemporary practices and policies . It addresses hitherto unchartered areas in the disability discourse that will be significant in the years to come. In the modern world, the social and medical responses to disability have been separation, segregation and incarceration of disabled people. These responses are reflected in practices of special education, building of asylums, medical classifications and sheltered employment. Current thinking on disability is based on the need to overcome such segregation through the enactment of human rights and socially just programmes, policies and laws such as inclusive education, affirmative action, reasonable accommodation, and supported decision-making.

This book explores:

· The evolution of the concept of disability over space and time and identifies approaches to disability, debility, equality and equity;

· Broad trends in research on disability across the world;

· New directions in work on disability;

· The emergence of a global disability movement and its etiology;

· Intersections of disability with other demographic variables like gender, race, caste, and age; and

· Historical and socio-economic interfaces with colonialism, globalization, and social development.

Spread over14 sections and spanning more than 80 chapters, this volume is the most comprehensive, up-to-date reference work available on the subject.