Lesley University Library: Visual Media: Finding & Citing: CINTD 3888: Disability Studies

Here are some great places to start, when looking for images related to disability studies, but don't forget to explore the other resources in this guide too! For example if you're looking for pictures with a more medical perspective, click the Subject-Specific Collections tab and try the Anatomy or Medical databases.

EveryBody: An Artifact History of Disability in America
Smithsonian National Museum of American History brings you this educational site, which includes photographs
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Collections
Searchable database of films and images from the Holocaust.

Here are some photography projects and exhibits by artists hoping to raise awareness and remove the social stigma attached to disabilities. You can also try adding words like "exhibit" "gallery" "archive" when you search Google for a topic!

disABLED Inside Out Exhibit
This public art project captures photographs of people with disabilities to raise awareness.
The Distance Between Us project
Christopher Capozziello has spent decades capturing the life of his twin brother, Nick, who has cerebral palsy
Honest Body Project
An article about a photography project, capturing mothers and children with disabilities in an effort to fight against social stigma.
Living Beyond Labels Exhibit
UK charity Queen Elizabeth’s Foundation for Disabled People (QEF) is holding its first public exhibition entitled ‘Crippled, Handicapped, Disabled’: Living beyond labels. It explores changing attitudes towards disability over the last 80 years and looks at the evolution of the charity from its humble beginnings as The Cripples’ Training College in 1935 with 16 trainees to a broad organisation offering a raft of services to support thousands of people with disabilities.

Check out websites for organizations dedicated to disability rights. Even if they don't have searchable image databases, you'll find images scattered around their site.

International Conference on Disability and Diversity
The conference website for the Pacific-Rim meeting in Hawaii.
Ability Center of Greater Toledo
They don't have a searchable image database, but you'll find a lot of original photographs throughout the site.
Krip-Hop Nation
Krip-Hop Nation highlights the many contributions of disabled persons to the music industry. Try the tab for "Press", that's usually where you can find high-resolution images and posters!

Remember to evaluate the images you find. Ask yourself:

How are the people being portrayed?
Did the subjects pose for the picture?
Does it look like anyone is being exploited or represented unfairly?
Did the people who created the image have a bias that shows? Were they trying to get an emotional reaction from you?
When was this image created?
Does the format/style of the image match the content?

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Visual Media: Finding & Citing

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