Research Subject Guides: Disability & Accessibility: Media & Representation

Media representation often says a lot about how a society treats different groups. Use the resources below to explore disability and accessibility in media.

Article Databases

ARTstor This link opens in a new window
A digital library of nearly one million images from libraries and museums worldwide. Art, sculpture, plans, photography, and tools to view, present, and manage images for teaching and presentation.
See ArtSTOR support for system requirements and tutorials.
JSTOR This link opens in a new window
One of the most trusted sources for scholarly books and historical journal backfiles.
Most journals include extended historic backfiles and not current issues. Arts and Sciences collections 1 thru XV are available, plus the Life Sciences collection, and Business III.

The Northeastern Library also purchases individual e-book titles from JSTOR. The books are available chapter-by-chapter as PDFs.

Arts and Sciences IV content is available courtesy of the Northeastern School of Law Library.
Communications & Mass Media Complete (EBSCOhost) This link opens in a new window
Citations to scholarship in areas related to communication and mass media, including new media, rhetoric, film, broadcasting, and more. Links to full text where available.
Entertainment Industry Magazine Archive (Proquest) This link opens in a new window
US and UK trade magazines (1880-2000) covering the vaudeville era to the internet era. Includes Billboard, Variety, Broadcasting, Melody Maker and much more

Film Databases

Kanopy Streaming This link opens in a new window
A curated collection of films for the Northeastern community, including feature films as well as high-interest documentaries. You may use Scholar OneSearch to find out if Northeastern has a particular film. Closed captions and transcripts included.
Instructors may request access via the request form in Kanopy.
If you live in Massachusetts and wish to use Kanopy outside of academic use, the Boston Public Library (BPL) offers Kanopy for free, up to 4 films a month. First BPL Kanopy-related info .
Films on Demand (FMG) This link opens in a new window
Over 200 films are available. Please let us know if you would like to suggest a film.Films include closed captions and transcripts.
Swank Digital Campus This link opens in a new window
Digital Campus, provided by Swank Motion Pictures, Inc. provides students streaming access to course-related films. These films are licensed for one year and do not come with public performance rights.
Swank Digital Campus may require the latest version of Chrome or Firefox to work properly. Safari and Internet Explorer on older versions of Windows are not supported.

Please note: On mobile devices you will be directed to download the Swank Digital Media Player when attempting to access a video. After you download the app, the link to play the video will open in the Swank Digital Media Player app.

You may request a film here.

LISTEN Movie

Listen Movie
"A short film in which nonspeaking autistic people talk about how nonspeakers are represented in books, theatre, and film. They provide guidance for changing the narrative. Learn more and access transcripts, translations, and a toolkit here: CommunicationFirst.org/Listen/"

Books

Cognitive Disability Aesthetics: Visual Culture, Disability Representations, and the (In)Visibility of Cognitive Difference (Opens in new window) by Benjamin Fraser
ISBN: 9781487502331
Publication Date: 2018
Cognitive Disability Aesthetics explores the invisibility of cognitive disability in theoretical, historical, social, and cultural contexts.