Disability and Representation - Changing the Cultural Conversation

I’m a writer, photographer, and activist passionate about disability rights.

I hold a Master’s degree in English from the University of California at Berkeley, where I taught freshman composition and sophomore literature as a graduate student instructor for three years. After graduate school, I began a fifteen-year career as a technical writer in the networking and telecommunications fields for such companies as Novell and Lucent Technologies. I’m currently pursuing my second Master’s degree, this time in History and Culture, at Union Institute and University. My field of concentration is Disability Studies.

On this site, I’ll share my reflections on my reading, analyze representations of disability in textual and visual media, and look at ideas for creating counter-representations that interrupt mainstream narratives.

I welcome your comments and insights. Thank you for joining the conversation.

Rachel Cohen-Rottenberg

Available from Amazon.com

We’ve Been Here All Along: Autistics Over 35 Speak Out in Poetry and Prose is a new anthology that showcases the work of autistic writers throughout the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, and Australia.

Twenty-two autistic adults, including Gavin Bollard, Nicole Nicholson, Jean Kearns Miller, and Laura Nagle, talk about such issues as growing up without a diagnosis and coming to understand themselves in adulthood through the lens of autism.

Through their work, they lift up their voices and make visible the struggles of past generations.

This blog is a safe space for the free and open discussion of ideas. Passionate, respectful debate is welcome. Dismissiveness, demeaning language, and other forms of disrespect are not. Please stay on point and respond with civility. You are free to criticize ideas, words, and actions, but do not cast aspersions and do not engage in ad hominem attacks. Any and all forms of bigotry will be deleted. I reserve the right to edit or delete any comments that violate this policy, without explanation or apology. Please refer to the post This Blog is a Disability-Safe Space for further details. Additional legal resources

DSS Custody of a Juvenile in a Delinquency Case: When and Why It Cannot Be Combined with Secure Custody or YDC Commitment

Case Summaries: N.C. Court of Appeals (Sept. 17, 2025)

News Roundup

Recent Legislative Changes Affecting Judicial Authority and Administration

Case Summaries: Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals (Aug. 2025)