@article {534411,
	title = {The Trouble With Disability in Shakespeare Studies},
	journal = {Disability Studies Quarterly},
	volume = {37},
	number = {2},
	year = {2017},
	abstract = {This article reviews some instances of disability in Shakespeare{\textquoteright}s works and some instances of Disability Studies in Shakespeare studies. Contrary to the claims of the\&nbsp;Disabled Shakespeares\&nbsp;project, there is no historical basis for the modern language of "disability" in Shakespeare{\textquoteright}s texts, as illustrated with a philology of the term; this does not, however, invalidate the viable uses of disability theory in Shakespeare studies. Developing a typology of these uses (historical, methodological, critical, theoretical), this article discusses the opportunities and liabilities of each approach but concludes that a better vocabulary can be found in Erving Goffman{\textquoteright}s theory of\&nbsp;stigma\&nbsp;(which inspired Disability Studies but, in many ways, is more conceptually and ethically buoyant). The main goal in this article is not to argue against a Disability Studies approach to Shakespeare but, instead, to use those readings as evidence of the imperfect even if well-intentioned ways we respond to the encounter with stigma in Shakespeare{\textquoteright}s works {\textendash} a phenomenon of literary criticism that is remarkably resonant with the similarly imperfect even if well-intentioned ways we respond to the encounter with stigma in our everyday lives.},
	url = {http://dsq-sds.org/article/view/5430/4644},
	author = {Jeffrey R. Wilson}
}
