Reconciling the Corporeal Materiality and Social Constructivism

a review of the work “Embodying Difference: Critical Phenomenology and Narratives of Disability, Race, and Sexuality”, by Simon Dickel

Abstract

In the book "Embodying Difference: Critical Phenomenology and Narratives of Disability, Race, and Sexuality", Simon Dickel, professor of gender studies and diversity at Folkwang University of the Arts in Germany, analyses narratives in the field of disability studies, of critical racial theory and queer studies from critical phenomenology. The book is composed of four chapters beyond the introduction and conclusion: (i) Disability and Incarnation (Disability and Embodiment); (ii) Blindness and Perception (Blindness and Perception); (iii) Blackness and Visibility (Blackness and Visibility); and Homoaffectivity and Invisibility (Gayness and Invisibility). In his work, Dickel, from the reading of memories and novels about disability, race and sexuality, and verifying how such narratives bring to light capacitism, racism and homophobia, Critical phenomenology is used to verify how it can serve as a perspective for literary and cultural studies, presenting alternatives to address the distinctive categories of disability, race and sexuality.