Exploring the Divide is the outcome of a three day conference and seminar to explore the uneasy relationship between medical sociology and disability theory held here at Leeds in April 1995.

This event brought together some of the the leading figures from both disciplines along with disabled and non-disabled researchers and disability activists from all over the UK.

The full text is now published online (please use the links below)

• Copyright information and contents pages
• 'Introduction: exploring the divide'; Colin Barnes and Geof Mercer
• 'Defining and Researching Disability: challenges and responses'; Mike Bury
• 'Defining Impairment and Disability: issues at stake: Mike Oliver
• 'Including All of Our Lives; Renewing the Social Model of Disability'; Liz Crow
• 'Negative Attributes of Self: Radical Surgery and the Inner and Outer Lifeworld'; Mike Kelly
• 'Disability, Identity and Difference'; Tom Shakespeare
• 'Identity Crisis: Mental Health User Groups and the "problem" of Identity'; Marian Barnes (no relation) and Polly Shardlow
• 'Sick but Fit or Fit but Sick? Ambiguity and Identity in the Workplace'; Ruth Pinder
• 'General Practitioners' Role in Shaping Disabled Women's Lives'; Nasa Begum
• 'Breaking Down Barriers'; Judith Emanuel and David Ackroyd
• 'Representing Disability: Some questions of phenomonology and politics'; Gareth Williams.

This title is now out of print and the online text should be considered as a second edition. The page numbers in the electronic versions are different from those in the first print edition. If quoting from these documents, please reference the URL for each chapter.