“Fatal” Diagnosis and Rites of Passage: Self-Representation of Disabled People and Their Statuses in Contemporary Russia
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“Fatal” Diagnosis and Rites of Passage: Self-Representation of Disabled People and Their Statuses in Contemporary Russia
Annotation
PII
S086954150012355-0-
Publication type
Article
Status
Published
Authors
Elena Nosenko-Stein 
Affiliation: Institute of Oriental Studies, Russian Academy of Sciences
Address: 12 Rozhdestvenka St., Moscow, 107031, Russia
Edition
Pages
149-161
Abstract

Drawn on in-depth interviews with disabled people, their autobiographical texts and life stories, the article examines and discusses the attitudes towards medical diagnoses that determine the status of disability in present-day Russia. I argue that disability is a construct built by “normal” people and that it exists in a certain historical and cultural context, depending also on medical problems and situations of a particular person. Statuses of disabled people in contemporary Russian society are extremely low, and the transition to such a status can be seen as a reversed rite of passage signifying a downward move from the “normal” social state to a much lower one. Thus, medical diagnosis which determines the status of disabled people as a stigmatized group, such as it is in today’s Russia, may be considered the starting phase of this rite.

Keywords
disability, disability studies, Russia, medical diagnosis, autobiographies, rites of passage
Acknowledgment
This research was supported by the following institutions and grants: Russian Foundation for Basic Research, https://doi.org/10.13039/501100002261 [20-09-00063 А]
Date of publication
28.12.2020
Number of purchasers
8
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427
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S086954150012355-0-1 Дата внесения правок в статью - 23.10.2020
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