Open Access"But You Don’t Look Sick": Dismodernism, Disability Studies and Music Therapy on Invisible Illness and the Unstable Body
Author(s) -
Samantha Bassler
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
voices
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 1504-1611
DOI - 10.15845/voices.v14i3.802
Subject(s) - cognitive dissonance , music therapy , compassion , mind–body problem , psychology , psychotherapist , disability studies , psychoanalysis , psychiatry , sociology , social psychology , epistemology , gender studies , philosophy , theology
Invisible illness poses a unique problem vis-a-vis disability and society, since invisible illness does not present itself outwardly and does not easily mark a person as having a disability. Using Lennard Davis's understanding of dismodernism as a guide, this essay explores the cognitive dissonance of invisible illness and instability in the body, examining the juxtaposition of disability studies and music therapy using the unstable and invisible difference of the body as a case study. The purpose of the essay is to propose a meeting ground between disability studies and music therapy, and suggest further avenues for working together to promote greater understanding and compassion for persons living with invisible illness.