Narrative Prosthesis: Disability and the Dependencies of Discourse

by David T. Mitchell, Sharon L. Snyder

Narrative Disability and the Dependencies of Discourse develops a narrative theory of the pervasive use of disability as a device of characterization in literature and film. It argues that, while other marginalized identities have suffered cultural exclusion due to a dearth of images reflecting their experience, the marginality of disabled people has occurred in the midst of the perpetual circulation of images of disability in print and visual media. The manuscript's six chapters offer comparative readings of key texts in the history of disability representation, including the tin soldier and lame Oedipus, Montaigne's "infinities of forms" and Nietzsche's "higher men," the performance history of Shakespeare's Richard III, Melville's Captain Ahab, the small town grotesques of Sherwood Anderson's Winesburg, Ohio and Katherine Dunn's self-induced freaks in Geek Love.David T. Mitchell is Associate Professor of Literature and Cultu

Genres: Disability, Disability Studies, Nonfiction, Theory

229 pages, Paperback

First published January 9, 2001

About the author

David T. Mitchell is an American scholar and professor of English and Cultural Studies at George Washington University, renowned for his influential work in Disability Studies. He has authored and edited numerous landmark texts, including Narrative Prosthesis and The Body and Physical Difference, and co-edits the long-running Corporealities book series at the University of Michigan Press. His research explores disability representation across literature, culture, film, history, and political theory, offering new ethical frameworks for understanding embodiment. His recent work spans topics such as climate change, posthumanism, and biopolitics. In addition to his writing, Mitchell produces films as part of his academic inquiry. He is currently completing Disposable Humanity, a documentary on Nazi psychiatric killings, co-directed with his son.

Reviews

[Kate♡]

4/5stars

super interesting theory that seems to come up a lot in other books on disability and literature so I'm glad I read it!

[Wouter]

A foundational text in disability studies and literary theory, incredibly informative and extremely lucid. At times the arguments Mitchell and Snyder make become a bit repetitive, and while I agree with most of what they say and I don't find all of their readings equally convincing. This is undoubtedly a great book though, and it's given me a lot to think about in terms of my own research.

[Matt]

This book has fantastic information and impressive research, but is somewhat inhibited by being too broad to prove useful in specific work.

[Tucker]

Representations of disabled bodies are very common in literature and carry a lot of associations and stereotypes. Is the person "monstrous"? Are they socially secluded? Obsessed? Is their life path predetermined? Does their disability overshadow other parts of their identity? Does it set them radically apart from what is considered normal human existence? Does the disability need to be transcended or forgotten, and, if neither of those things happen, will the disability swallow them? In academic language, this book explores these questions.

[Ella Louise Schalski]

Read for comps.

[Laura]

Pre mid

[Mia]

Possibly my favourite book on disability discourses that I've read so far. Mitchell and Snyder are two of the best in this area, and this comes through in Narrative Prosthesis. Straight forward yet sophisticated; a great break down of the topic.