Of Mice and Men
John Steinbeck

Representations of Disability in Of Mice and Men and One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Next: Avoiding Handicapism in the Classroom
Lyndsay McCabe | Stony Brook University | May 2014 | Masters Thesis
From the abstract: in this thesis, McCabe examines “two novels that feature characters with disabilities and that are often taught in secondary English classes. These texts will be analyzed through a disabilities studies perspective…The disability studies perspective involves looking at disability in a critical light and examining the social, cultural, and political ramifications of assumptions that are made about those considered to be ‘disabled’ by the able-bodied majority. Using this lens [McCabe] will explore the assumptions about disability that seem to be represented in these works through their use of language, and how teachers can approach disability n literature in a way that will encourage their students to be conscious of harmful depictions of people with disabilities and to be aware of their own use of language and how it contributes to the many constructions of disability.”
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