Rights of Inclusion: Law and Identity in the Life Stories of Americans with Disabilities (Chicago Series in Law and Society)

__Rights of Inclusion__ provides an innovative, accessible perspective on how civil rights legislation affects the lives of ordinary Americans. Based on eye-opening and deeply moving interviews with intended beneficiaries of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), David M. Engel and Frank W. Munger argue for a radically new understanding of rights-one that focuses on their role in everyday lives rather than in formal legal claims. Although all sixty interviewees had experienced discrimination, none had filed a formal protest or lawsuit. Nevertheless, civil rights played a crucial role in their lives. Rights improved their self-image, enhanced their career aspirations, and altered the perceptions and assumptions of their employers and coworkers-in effect producing more inclusive institutional arrangements. Focusing on these long-term life histories, Engel and Munger incisively show how rights and identity affect one another over time and how that interaction ultimately determines the success of laws such as the ADA. Rights of Inclusion provides an innovative, accessible perspective on how civil rights legislation affects the lives of ordinary Americans. Based on eye-opening and deeply moving interviews with intended beneficiaries of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), David M. Engel and Frank W. Munger argue for a radically new understanding of rights-one that focuses on their role in everyday lives rather than in formal legal claims.

Although all sixty interviewees had experienced discrimination, none had filed a formal protest or lawsuit. Nevertheless, civil rights played a crucial role in their lives. Rights improved their self-image, enhanced their career aspirations, and altered the perceptions and assumptions of their employers and coworkers-in effect producing more inclusive institutional arrangements. Focusing on these long-term life histories, Engel and Munger incisively show how rights and identity affect one another over time and how that interaction ultimately determines the success of laws such as the ADA.

Preface ix Introduction 1 one Life Story: Sara Lane 21 Life Story: Jill Golding 30 Life Stories: Sara Lane and Jill Golding Together 37 Identity and Rights 40 two Life Story: Raymond Militello 70 Reinterpreting the Effects of Rights 78 three Life Story: Sid Tegler 106 Work and Identity 114 four Life Story: Georgia Steeb 133 Discursive Frameworks and ADA Rights 142 five Life Story: Rosemary Sauter 168 The Effect of Social Circumstances on Rights and Identity 177 six Life Story: Beth Devon 205 Gender and Disability Rights 213 Conclusion 239 References 257 Index 267 David M. Engel and Frank W. Munger argue for a radically new understanding of rights - one that focuses on their role in everyday lives rather than in formal legal claims. Although all 60 interviewees had experienced discrimination, none had filed a formal protest or lawsuit. Nevertheless, civil rights played a crucial role in their lives Providing an innovative and accessible perspective on how civil rights legislation affects the lives of ordinary Americans, this work argues for a radical new understanding of rights. The study is based on interviews with those who had experienced discrimination on disability issues. Examines how civil rights legislation impacts the lives of ordinary Americans, drawing on the experiences of sixty interviewees that have been victims of discrimination to discuss how civil rights impacted their lives The nursing supervisor approached Jill Golding in the hospital ward and thrust a newspaper at her, exclaiming, "Look at this.