Research Details
DEPT/SUBJECT AREA - English Literature
SUPERVISOR(S) - Dr. Rachel Farebrother, Dr. Richard Robinson
RESEARCH DEGREE (PhD)
THESIS TITLE - Ideas of Landscape in the Fiction of Marilynne Robinson, Toni Morrison, and Louise Erdrich
Defined by a Label
Research Synopsis
Inequality of access to the education system in Britain, in the second half of the twentieth century, effectively discriminated against many children with cerebral palsy. Individuals with the condition were judged by their physical impairment and their cognitive abilities were ignored.
My research considers the key factors which brought about a change in attitudes and the provision of services for individuals with cerebral palsy. However, national campaigns, to raise awareness and funds, utilised the media of the day, often employing emotive images to reinforce their message.
The imagery portrayed presented a dichotomy as it often hid the real progress that was being made. Oral history records used in my thesis reveal the lived experiences of people with cerebral palsy and how they were generally perceived in post-war Britain.
