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Examining the UK Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) in comparison to its counterparts in the USA and Australia, this book focuses on how it is being interpreted and acted upon in the context of higher education, a key area of national attention in the UK. It also evaluates this law in the context of the larger project of civil rights legislation and demonstrates that geography can be used to explain law and legal arguments by highlighting their subjectivity and by emphasizing the importance of place, specificity and context. While providing in-depth analysis of the effectiveness and scope of this significant legislation this book demonstrates the importance of geography in the application of law. It provides insights into the broader workings of UK anti-discrimination law, which are particularly relevant given the scrutiny of the Equality and Human Rights Commission and the concerns about the effectiveness of legal tools in fighting discrimination. Finally, this book critiques liberal notions of legal subjectivity and medical definitions of disability which is topical given the current attention given to debates about identity politics.
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Understanding Disability Discrimination Law through Geography
Fayyaz Vellani
Understanding Disability Discrimination Law through Geography
To my Parents: Mohamed and Gulshan Vellani
Understanding Disability Discrimination Law through Geography
Fayyaz Vellani
© Fayyaz Vellani 2013 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without the prior permission of the publisher. Fayyaz Vellani has asserted his right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988, to be identified as the author of this work. Published by Ashgate Publishing Limited Ashgate Publishing Company Wey Court East 110 Cherry Street Union Road Suite 3-1 Farnham Burlington, VT 05401-3818 Surrey, GU9 7PT USA England www.ashgate.com British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data Vellani, Fayyaz. Understanding disability discrimination law through geography. 1. Great Britain. Disability Discrimination Act 1995. 2. People with disabilities–Legal status, laws, etc.– Great Britain. I. Title 342.4’1087-dc23 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Vellani, Fayyaz. Understanding disability discrimination law through geography / by Fayyaz Vellani. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-1-4094-2806-0 (hardback : alk. paper) – ISBN 978-1-4094-2807-7 (ebook) 1. People with disabilities–Education (Higher)–Law and legislation–Great Britain. 2. Discrimination against people with disabilities–Law and legislation–Great Britain. 3. People with disabilities–Legal status, laws, etc.–Great Britain. 4. Great Britain. Disability Discrimination Act 1995. 5. Great Britain. Equality Act 2010. 6. Law and geography–Great Britain. 7. People with disabilities–Legal status, laws, etc.–United States. 8. People with disabilities–Legal status, laws, etc.–Australia. I. Title. KD737.V43 2013 344’.0798–dc23 2012030424 ISBN 9781409428060 (hbk) ISBN 9781409428077 (ebk – PDF) ISBN 9781472404374 (ebk – ePUB)
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Printed and bound in Great Britain by the MPG Books Group, UK.
Contents List of Figures and Tables Introduction Part I
vii 1
Concepts in Disability Law
1
Law and Liberal Legalism
2
Law, Geography and Disability: Revealing the Idealised Spatialities of Disability Discrimination Legislation
33
3
Deconstructing Liberal Discourses in Service Provision
63
Part II
7
Implementation
4
The DDA and the New Managerialism in Higher Educati