Freedom to read : a personal account of the ‘book famine’
Date
2014-11
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
AOSIS Publishing
Abstract
Even in the digital age, access to literature and other information for people with print impairments remains extremely poor, especially in the developing world. Reading access holds cascading implications for education, economic empowerment, social articipation and self-worth. In June 2013 member states of WIPO (the World Intellectual Property Organization) concluded a landmark treaty to reduce copyright impediments to the dissemination of literature to print impaired people. Its effectiveness is not yet clear. Meanwhile, critics hold that disability studies’ analyses have too often lacked insight into the personal and psychological ramifications of exclusion. This article provides an account of the ‘book famine’ from the perspective of a print impaired South African disability researcher, arguing that thorough investigation of the impressions of exclusion is necessary for change. The account highlights the personal, even malignant psychological reverberations of deprivations such as the ‘book famine’, which may carry traumatic effects which cement the status quo.
Description
CITATION: Watermeyer, B. 2014. Freedom to read : a personal account of the ‘book famine’. African Journal of Disability, 3(1): 1-6. doi: 10.4102/ajod.v3i1.144.
The original publication is available at http://www.ajod.org
The original publication is available at http://www.ajod.org
Keywords
Freedom to read, Self-esteem, Copyright -- Social aspects, Marginality, Social
Citation
Watermeyer, B. 2014. Freedom to read : a personal account of the ‘book famine’. African Journal of Disability, 3(1): 1-6. doi: 10.4102/ajod.v3i1.144