American Folklore Studies and Disability: An Introduction

Abstract

Abstract As an introduction to the special issue on folklore and disability, this essay offers a brief overview of how concerns about disability have historically been included in folklore studies in the United States. It discusses the field of disability studies and how folklore has been an important element of disability theory and writing. In making an argument for how a more serious engagement with disability studies theory and writing can enhance US folkloristics, the essay further suggests the development of a subfield of folklore devoted to disability and folklore.