section_path: Theory/Disability studies
section_name: Disability studies
paragraph_text: Disability studies
  
  The academic discipline focused on theorizing disability is disability studies, which has been expanding since the late twentieth century. The field investigates the past, present, and future constructions of disability, along with advancing the viewpoint that disability is a complex social identity from which we can all gain insight. As disabilities scholar Claire Mullaney puts it, "At its broadest, disability studies encourages scholars to value disability as a form of cultural difference". Scholars of the field focus on a range of disability-related topics, such as ethics, policy and legislation, history, art of the disability community, and more. Notable scholars from the field include Marta Russell, Robert McRuer, Johanna Hedva, Laura Hershey, Irving Zola, and many more. Prominent disability scholar Lennard J. Davis notes that disability studies should not be considered a niche or specialized discipline, but instead is applicable to a wide range of fields and topics.