Disability as a discourse semiotic phenomenon

This introductory chapter presents the context and purpose of the book. It explains ‘impairment’ and ‘disability’ from international and local Malaysian perspectives, integrating concepts from disability studies. The chapter establishes that disability is perceived as a sign system that marks bodies and minds. Semiotically, in De Saussure’s terms, the disabled body can be perceived as a signifier and site of discursive production and consumption. Therefore, visuals of disability are often marked with signs which are recognizable to the viewers as images of and about disability. Grounded in critical discourse studies, social semiotics, visual news discourse, socio-anthropology and critical disability studies (CDS), this chapter outlines the aim of the book, which is to unpack the construal and representation of disabled persons and disability in news images. More importantly, it is imperative to uncover what these representations reflect about the system of values in society and whether they can perpetuate an inclusive, exclusive or differential stance in categorizing people.