Jay Timothy Dolmage is a Canadian rhetoric and disability studies scholar at the University of Waterloo whose work examines how academic institutions — including their writing conventions — are structured around ableist assumptions.
Core ideas
- Academic ableism: Dolmage argues that universities are designed around an assumed “normal” body and mind — timed exams, lecture-based instruction, dense reading loads, and linear writing expectations all privilege specific cognitive and physical profiles. These structures are not neutral accommodations to learning; they are choices that exclude [@dolmage2017].
- Universal design for writing: rather than retrofitting accessibility onto existing conventions (accommodations for individual students), Dolmage advocates universal design — creating writing environments, assignments, and documents that work for the widest possible range of people from the start. Universal design benefits all users, not just those with disabilities.
- Rhetoric of disability: Dolmage connects disability studies to rhetorical theory, showing how metaphors of disability (blindness, deafness, paralysis) permeate rhetorical traditions and how disabled bodies have been used rhetorically to represent deficiency.
Notable works
- Academic Ableism: Disability and Higher Education (2017)
- Disability Rhetoric (2014)
Related
- accessibility — the writing-specific application of Dolmage’s universal design arguments
- language and power — ableism in writing conventions is a power concern
- cognitive load — Dolmage’s work connects to cognitive load theory by showing that “standard” cognitive load assumptions exclude neurodivergent readers