By Tom Shakespeare

Paperback and Hardback

“This recommendation was hand-selected by The Gwenin Exchange team for its alignment with Gwenin’s values of clarity, accessibility, and mindful living.”

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Description

Tom Shakespeare’s Disability: The Basics is an essential, clear-eyed introduction to what disability means in the modern world and why understanding it matters. Drawing on decades of research and lived experience, Shakespeare explores how historical, cultural, economic, and legal factors shape the everyday lives of disabled people.

Through engaging writing and rich examples, the book unpacks crucial questions:

• What does it mean to live with an impairment in today’s society?
• How have disability rights movements changed the world?
• What barriers still exist in education, employment, and healthcare?
• How do ethics, access, and inclusion intersect across the lifespan?

Disability: The Basics provides a global, human-centred view of disability, one that honours diversity while exposing the inequalities that persist. It’s an invaluable primer for students of disability studies, sociology, health and social care, policy, and anyone who wants to build a more inclusive world.

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How does this fit with the Gwenin Exchange?

At The Gwenin Exchange, we celebrate learning that drives social progress and Disability: The Basics captures exactly that spirit. Tom Shakespeare’s accessible yet deeply insightful overview connects perfectly with Gwenin’s mission to foster understanding, equality, and empowerment across communities.

This book offers a framework for meaningful dialogue about inclusion, the kind that bridges lived experience with academic insight, and policy with personal story. For those involved in education, advocacy, or community engagement, it’s a touchstone for developing the empathy and knowledge needed to create lasting change.

By bringing this text into the Gwenin Exchange collection, we’re reaffirming our commitment to rethinking how disability is understood not as a limitation, but as a key part of the shared human story.

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Order through the Gwenin Exchange partner link:

Disability: The Basics

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