Cripistemology of Appalachia: Disability, Quareness, and the Speculative Present

This article introduces disability studies in Appalachia and argues that disability is an undertheorized area in Appalachian studies. To show the overlap and relevance of these two fields, I argue that ideas of disability have been central in the social construction of Appalachia. Associations with disability, whether ascribed to mountaineers or to the entire region, have enabled a mode of intervention characterized by rehabilitation and development, which operate as normalizing strategies. While being mindful of the embodied harm and the challenges of celebrating disability identity in disenfranchised regions, I trace a “cripistemology” of the region from a critical disability studies perspective. In recognizing the histories of disability in Appalachia, I suggest what I term a “speculative present” as a way to consider disability futures outside of the neoliberal demand for progress.