For a public sociology: rethinking disability from the point of view of human rights

Abstract

In this article we recover the proposal of Michael Burawoy on the place of Public Sociology in the framework of contemporary Sociologies, applying it to the Studies of Disability. This new scientific field is characterized and the results of a qualitative study examining violations of human rights of persons with disabilities in Portugal and the socio-political factors that underlie it are discussed. It concludes with the pertinence of a Public Disability Sociology that gives voice to the disabled, giving space for a viewpoint of and about the issue of deficiency in contemporary Sociology, while also considering knowledge construction and social intervention.