Welcome

My name is Steve and I am a graduate student getting my MA in English at SUNY Cortland. I am at about the midway point of doing my master's paper. For the paper I'm applying the literary theory of Disability Studies to the two non-fiction books of Andre Dubus. However, this blog will not be focused on Andre Dubus nor his non-fiction work. Instead, on this blog, I will be posting observations about articles, songs, poems, writings, TV, whatever, by applying the theory of Disability Studies to a given piece. I became interested in this field of study because I got diabetes at nine months old, and have had some of the more serious side-effects of the illness. Over time I've come to see that how people treat each other often depends on how well the body is functioning. Most people in modern day America, even if a lot of us are out of shape, want to present ourselves as healthy; which is fine, but when the body breaks down, how then, amidst this health/image driven society, does one respond? People who have clearly visible disabilities cannot hide their situations, and thus are often treated as an "other," as a person not worth associating with. A person with a hidden chronic situation, such as myself, has a choice, but still has to decide how to handle the case. Does a person continue to try and hide the situation? - most likely holding a sense of fear that the ailment may be uncovered by someone. Or does a person speak about the condition? - risking the person will be treated differently now that people know he or she has a physical challenge. As stated above, these questions and ideas will be explored via a variety of forms and media. We'll see what happens. Stay tuned.