Finding representations of disability - ENG 495 - Professor Huff

Finding representations of disability in literature

You can find representations of disability in literature using OneSearch, which is near the top of the University Libraries' homepage.

If you know of a specific book or literary work, usually its title combined with the author's last name are sufficient search terms, e.g.:

Haddon AND Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time.

If you are looking for representations of disability but don't have a specific book or work in mind, there are a couple strategies for finding some. You could use the name of the disability as a search term, combined with terms that represent the kind of writing you're interested in. For example:

Autism AND fiction
Disability AND poetry
Blindness AND memoir

You can also select "book/ebook" from the content type filter on the left side of the results page to limit your searches to books only.

Another strategy for identifying books is to use GoodRead's "Listopia" page to search for user-generated lists of books about a disability or a particular disability.

Finding representations of disability in film and television in OneSearch

You can find representations of disability in film and television using OneSearch, which is near the top of the University Libraries' homepage.

If you know of a specific film or television series, usually its title combined with the author's last name are sufficient search terms, e.g.:

There Will Be Blood

If you are looking for representations of disability but don't have a specific film or TV show in mind, you could use the name of the disability as a search term, combined with terms that represent the medium you're interested in. For example:

Autism AND feature films
Deafness AND drama
Nearsighted AND television

You can also select "video recording" from the content type filter on the left side of the results page to limit your searches to books only. You might have to first click "more" beneath the content type filter, in order to display the full list of content types.

Finding representations of disability in film and television in Kanopy

You might also find representations of disability in film using Kanopy, a streaming video service.

Kanopy Streaming Films This link opens in a new window
Description: Kanopy is a film database containing more than 30,000 films from more than 1,000 producers. It includes the Criterion Collection, Media Education Foundation, The Great Courses, News Day Films and more.

Note: Creating a profile allows you to access your Dashboard, where you can create and share a watch list. Here's how you do it. Also, Kanopy blocks video viewing on mobile devices in the device's native browser.
Time Period:
Sources: Select from more than 30,000 films.
Subject Headings: Art & Architecture, Business, Education, English & Linguistics, General, Health, History, Humanities, Music, Philosophy & Religion, Psychology, Science, Social Sciences, Technology
Scholarly or Popular: Semi-scholarly
Primary Materials: Videos
Information Included: Streaming Video
FindIt@BALL STATE: No
Print Equivalent: None
Publisher: Kanopy
Updates: Daily
Number of Simultaneous Users: Unlimited

Kanopy's interface that will be familiar to users of similar services, like Netflix, Hulu, etc. If you're looking for a particular film, try searching for it by title. If you're looking for films about a disability, try using just one or two search terms that represent it.

Finding representations of disability in the law

Federal laws and state codes are often available online. This is particularly true of recently passed laws. The links below will give you some leads on finding laws. Search and browsing interfaces may differ from one site/link to the next, so if you need help using these resources, contact a librarian.

Congress.gov This link opens in a new window Access legislation, committee reports, and the Congressional Record from the 104th Congress (1995) to the present.  Member profiles are available from the 93rd Congress (1973) to the present with some profiles from 1929-1972.  Congress.gov is in an initial beta phase with plans to transform the Library of Congress's existing congressional information system into a modern, durable and user-friendly resource. Eventually, it will incorporate all of the information available on THOMAS.gov.
Description: Access legislation, committee reports, and the Congressional Record from the 104th Congress (1995) to the present. Member profiles are available from the 93rd Congress (1973) to the present with some profiles from 1929-1972.
Congress.gov is in an initial beta phase with plans to transform the Library of Congress's existing congressional information system into a modern, durable and user-friendly resource. Eventually, it will incorporate all of the information available on THOMAS.gov.
Time Period: 2001 to present
Sources:
Subject Headings: Law, Social Sciences
Scholarly or Popular: Semi-scholarly
Primary Materials: Legal Materials, Report, Videos
Information Included: Full Text, Citations
FindIt@BALL STATE: No
Print Equivalent: Congressional record, daily digest of the Congress
Updates: Daily
Number of Simultaneous Users: Unlimited
Other:

Municipal codes for large, populous cities are also sometimes available online. Try Googling "[NAME OF CITY] municipal code" and looking for links that end in ".gov".