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What Difference Does it Make Who is Speaking?Audience, ownership and authority in learning disability researchUniversity of Sheffield, UK A.McClimens{at}sheffield.ac.uk Co-authorship is welcome in the field of disability studies where the argument for involving former ‘subjects’ in research is well rehearsed. This involvement brings concomitant problems to the process and these can be summarized around audience, ownership and authority. People with learning difficulties need to be involved in the research process. This involvement, however, is not straightforward. Poststructuralist critiques have rendered knowledge claims suspect when they are aligned with the ‘author-as-expert’. Similarly, presumed authenticity derived from ontological privilege invites criticism on the grounds that such a stance compromises knowledge claims by restricting them to specific identity positions. The article argues for a re-evaluation of the language used within the disability press that promotes variety over dogma and places more emphasis on what is said rather than who is speaking. Finally, a plea is made for accessible versions of the contents of academic publications to be readily available to a wider audience.
Key Words: authority • co-authorship • co-research • language • learning difficulties
Journal of Learning Disabilities, Vol. 8, No. 1,
71-88 (2004) |
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