Reviewed by Charlotte Price
When I first heard of the publication of Ashley Shew’s Against Technoableism, I was giddy. This book appeals to several aspects of scholarship and interest that I have yet to see intersect fully: human-computer interaction, disability studies, astrophysics, memoir, science fiction, and intersectional activism. The book focuses on one key idea, with several following suit: the coining and dismantling of the term “technoableism” through the idea that the future is disabled. Shew celebrates and explores several famous disability scholars and activists including Alice Wong, Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarsinha, and the late Bill Peace. This book is part tongue-in-cheek memoir, part academic essay collection, and all manifesto. To those in the disability community and academic spaces, it will no doubt feel like a warm acknowledgment and engaging discussion with a friend/fellow academic.
Each of the six chapters in Against Technoableism emphasizes a specific area of disability studies and experience. Chapter one outlines key terms and sets the tone of the book, especially through a witty takedown of disability memoir tropes. There is also a brief acknowledgement of cyborg discourse and its relationship to technoableism, the idea that technology can “fix” disability. The chapter ends with a brief overview of Chapters 2 to 6.
Chapter two acts as an “introduction to disability studies” emphasizing the notion of bias from a disability perspective and the importance of scholars and activists from the disability community being the center of discussions. Shew shines most when discussing the classes she teaches and saying, “I tell my Technology & Disability students frankly that my class is biased” (page 11, ebook edition). Making disabled people the expert is key in this chapter. Shew provides several examples and overviews of cases and discussions central to disability studies. Most notably, the discourse around body-mind and social models of disability favoring neurodiverse and mental health experiences and not solely physical disability experiences while pushing for cross-disability solidarity.
Chapter three, “Scripts and Crips,” explores and debunks classic disability narratives and tropes, opening with a discussion of Lynn Manning’s poem, “The Magic Wand,” which highlights his experiences as a black blind Paralympian. Shew unpacks several tropes such as “Pitiable Freaks,”] “Moochers and Fakers,” “Bitter Cripples,” “Shameful Sinners,” and “Inspirational Overcomers.” This chapter has a clear message: centering the experiences of disabled people to challenge the notion of normal.
Next, chapter four, “New Legs, New Tricks,” delves into mobile disability, focusing on Shew’s experiences as an amputee and aligning those experiences with technology and social ideas of what is “normal” and “beautiful”—often white and attractive looking. There is also an acknowledgement, highlighting late scholar Bill Peace, on exoskeletons as means of conformity. Additionally, this chapter discusses the ways in which technologies designed to help often further hurt those that they are designed for.
The penultimate chapter (chapter five), “The Neurodivergent Resistance,” is the chapter I am most excited about as an “ADHDer”—a term Shew uses that is new to me and admittedly not my favorite (I prefer “neurodiverse”). I love how Shew starts with acknowledging her position as a disabled scholar while articulating that neurodiversity is not her experience. Thus, this chapter is introduced as an overview of current scholarship on neurodiversity. As an information scientist and educator, I was most drawn to the notion of “counterventions” ; the possibilities of changing both research and the classroom are incredible. I also was very drawn to the notion of cultural technologies for the Autistic community. While a relatively simple overview, it was incredibly exciting to see neurodiversity and hidden disabilities be represented and acknowledged.
The final chapter (chapter six), “Accessible Futures,” ties all aspects together, emphasizing two overall messages: the future is disabled, and cross-disability solidarity and intersectionality in the disability community are essential. The book closes with an antidote about being normalized as Shew picks up her daughter from school highlighting what many disabled people desire— acceptance and normalization, not to be fixed.
In many ways, I find Against Technoableism to be a fantastic manifesto of modern disability studies in a technological world. It provides wonderful and witty discussions of disability topics, grounded in Shew’s experiences, and peppered with high quality scholarship from disabled activists, scholars, and artists—obviously including Shew herself. In many ways, the book feels like a love letter to our community. My only issue is that it felt a bit short, and I would have liked more discussions of gender, sexuality, and queerness as well as race and disability. Although it is quite a task to be intersectional from any standpoint, I feel like Shew does a good job in this regard. My hope is that scholars and activists can take this book and use these discussions to inspire further scholarship and activism. I for one will certainly be taking a few notes on Shew’s principles and am thoroughly inspired and motivated by “counterventions.”
Title: Against Technoableism: Rethinking Who Needs Improvement
Author: Ashley Shew
Publisher: Norton
Year: 2023
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About the Reviewer
Charlotte Price (she, her, hers) is a graduate of Syracuse University’s iSchool, where she earned an MLIS and a Certificate of Advanced Study (CAS) in Disability Studies. She won the Amy Everett Award for Ethics in Information Management in 2019. Charlotte works as a school librarian and enjoys writing in her free time. Charlotte lives in her hometown of Columbus, Ohio.