Thesis (M.A.) - Cairo University - Faculty of Arts - Department of English

The marginalization of people with disabilities in the social, literary and academic arenas cannot be ignored. With the expansion of wars, people with disabilities are doubly enfeebled due to their personal impairment and the lack of communal recognition. Writers and artists have lately aimed at granting them visibility to normalize their presence and shed light on the injustice to which they are exposed. Hence, resistance art interrogates and at times subverts their position and preconceived image through providing a credible account of their life, struggle, and achievements.The aim of this thesis is to hold a comparative study of the representation of people with disabilities in war zones in three different texts; mainly, a 2016 semi-autobiography, Nujeen: One Girl{u201F}s Incredible Journey from War-Torn Syria in a Wheelchair by Nujeen Mustafa and Christina Lamb, the 2014 television documentary The Invisible People{u2016}, and a collection of documentary photographs by Giles Duley. The proposed research will scrutinize the impact of war on people with disabilities and the way they cope differently with their traumatic experiences. {u2019}Moreover, the study will investigate how disability and the marginality of people with disabilities can be either a mode of oppression or resistance. Finally, this dissertation will examine the role and objective of Western reporters/war correspondents, namely, Lamb and Duley, in portraying the issues and struggles of Syrian refugees with disabilities to the West. The thesis will utilize an interdisciplinary approach that draws upon disability studies, postcolonial trauma theory, and cultural studies

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