Tom Shakespeare

“Of the making of books, there is no end, and much study is a weariness of the flesh” – Ecclesiastes 12:12

Since I first started writing academic papers in 1993, I have published more than 100 papers and chapters, and also authored or edited twelve books. I’ve also contributed to major WHO publications such as the World report on disability (2011). It has been a great joy to have collaborated with so many people, most of all Nick Watson, and I am very proud that my work has been cited over 24,000 times by others.  I sincerely hope it has all made some difference to the lives of disabled people and their families.


(2021) Rivas Velarde M, Lord JE, Stein MA, Shakespeare T.  Disarmament, Demobilization, and Reintegration in Colombia: lost human rights opportunities for ex-combatants with disabilities, Journal of Human Rights, forthcoming.

(2021)  Banks LM, Nyariki E, Olenja JM, Alghaib OA, Shakespeare T.  “It is too much for us”: Direct and indirect costs of disability amongst working-aged people with disabilities in Dhaka, Bangladesh and Nairobi, Kenya.  Journal of Human Development and Capabilities, forthcoming.

(2021) Bezmez D, Lee K, Shakespeare T.  Theorising rehabilitation: actors and parameters shaping normality, liminality and depersonalisation in a UK hospital, Sociology of Health and Illness, forthcoming.

(2020) Openings to the Infinite Ocean: a friendly offering of hope, London: Quaker Books.

(2020) Porter T, Shakespeare T, Stöckl A,  A qualitative study of trouble in direct payment personal assistance relationships, Work, Employment and Society, forthcoming.

(2020) Zuurmond M, Gifty N, Bernays S.  Seeley J, Shakespeare T.  Illuminating the empowerment journey of caregivers of children with disabilities: understanding lessons learnt from Ghana.  African Journal of Disability, 9: 705.

(2020) Kuper H, Davey C, Banks LM, Shakespeare T.  Trials and tribulations of collecting evidence on effectiveness in disability-inclusive development: a narrative review, Sustainability, forthcoming.

(2020) Banks LM, Davey C, Shakespeare T, Kuper H.  Disability-inclusive responses to COVID-19: lessons learnt from research on social protection in low- and middle-income countries. World Development 137: 105178 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.worlddev.2020.105178

(2020) Kuper H, Banks LM, Bright T, Davey C, Shakespeare T.  Disability-inclusive COVID-19 response: what it is, why it is important, and what we can learn from the United Kingdom’s response, Wellcome Open Research 5, 79  doi: 10.12688/wellcomeopenres.15833.1

(2020) Hameed S, Maddams A, Lowe H, Davies L, Khosla R,  Shakespeare T.  From Words to Actions: Systematic Review of Interventions to Promote Sexual and Reproductive Health of Persons with Disabilities in Low- And Middle-Income Countries, BMJ Global Health, forthcoming.

(2020) Mugeere, Anthony Buyinza; Omona, Julius; State, Andrew Ellias; Shakespeare, Tom“Oh God! Why Did You Let Me Have This Disability?”: religion, spirituality and disability in three African countries. Journal of Disability & Religion, 24 (1). pp. 64-81. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/23312521.2019.1698387

(2019) Rivas Velarde, M. and T. Shakespeare. Social participation and inclusion of ex-combatants with disabilities in Colombia. Disability and the Global South 6(2): 1736-1755.

(2019) Porter T, Shakespeare T, Stockl A.   ‘Her life is my life, I don’t want my life to be hers’, the micro-politics of personal assistance relationships, Sociology of Health and Illness, in press.

(2019) King, TL,  Shields M, Milner A, Vaughan C, Shakespeare T, Currier D, Kavanagh A.  An intersectional approach to understandings of mental health inequalities among men with disability, SSM – Population Health, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssmph.2019.100464

(2019) Shakespeare T.  When the political becomes personal: reflecting on disability bioethics, Bioethics, https://doi.org/10.1111/bioe.12668

(2019) King, TL,  Shields M, Milner A, Vaughan C, Shakespeare T, Currier D, Kavanagh A.  Conformity to masculine norms: differences between men with and without a disability, Psychology of Men & Masculinities, 21, 3: 380-391

(2019) Bollier, A-M, King TL, Shakespeare T, Hocking J.  Kavanagh A.   Sexual functioning in men with and without disability: Findings from a representative sample of Australian males, Journal of Sexual Medicine, 16, 11: 1749-1757.

(2019) Hackman C, Zeilig H, Notley C, Wilson J, Shakespeare T. Perspectives on the INternational CLassification of Diseases, 11th Revision (ICD-11); an international qualitative study to Understand and improve mental health Diagnosis using expertise by Experience: INCLUDE Study, Lancet Psychiatry, forthcoming.

(2019) Shakespeare T, Mugeere A, Nyariki E, Simbaya J.  Success in Africa: people with disabilities share their stories, African Journal of Disability, 8, 522: doi: 10.4102/ajod.v8i0.522

(2019) Bezmez, D, Yardimici, S, Shakespeare T.  Role of the family in in-patient rehabilitation: a comparison of England and Turkey, Disability and Rehabilitation, 30, 1-9 doi: 10.1080/09638288.2019.1632941

(2018) Zuurmond M, Nyante G, Baltussen M, Seeley J, Abanga J, Shakespeare T, Collumbien M, Bernays S.  A support programme for caregivers of children with disabilities in Ghana: understanding the impact on the wellbeing of caregivers.  Child Care, Health and Development 1-9 E-print ahead of publication https://doi.org/10.1111/cch.12618

(2018) Shakespeare T, Hull R.  Termination of pregnancy after non-invasive prenatal testing (NIPT): ethical considerations, Journal of Practical Ethics, 6, 2: Available at https://ssrn.com/abstract=3311515

(2018) Shakespeare T, Cooper H, Bezmez D, Poland F.  Rehabilitation as a disability equality issue: a conceptual shift for disability studies? Social Inclusion, 6, 1: 61-72

(2018) Shakespeare T, Porter T, Stӧckl A.  Metaphors to work by: the meaning of personal assistance in England, International Journal of Care and Caring, 2, 2: 165-179

(2018) Nurser K, Rushworth I, Shakespeare T, Williams D, Personal storytelling in mental health recovery, Mental Health Review Journal, 23, 1: https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/MHRJ-08-2017-0034/full/htmlsb

(2018) Shakespeare T, Whieldon A.  Sing Your Heart Out: community singing as part of mental health recovery, Medical Humanities, 44,3: http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/medhum-2017-011195.

(2018)  Collins R, Firth L, Shakespeare T.  Psychiatrists’ views on Recovery Colleges, Journal of Mental Health Training Education and Practice, forthcoming.

(2017) Shakespeare T, Richardson S. The sexual politics of disability: twenty years on,  Scandinavian Journal of Disability Research, online ahead of print.

(2017) Shakespeare T, Zeilig H, Mittler P.  Rights in mind: thinking differently about dementia and disability, Dementia, online ahead of print

(2017) Shakespeare T, Watson N, Alghaib OA.  Blaming the victim, all over again: Waddell and Aylward’s biopsychosocial (BPS) model of disability, Critical Social Policy 37, 1: 22-41

(2017) Disability – the basics, London: Routledge.

(2016) Collins R, Firth L, Shakespeare T.  ‘Very much evolving’: a qualitative study of the views of psychiatrists about peer support workers, Journal of Mental Health 25, 3: 278-283

(2016) Porter T, Shakespeare T. ‘Imposed unknowns’: a qualitative study into the impact of Independent Living Fund closure on users, Disability and Society 31, 7: 884-896

(2016) Howard-Wilsher S, Irvine L, Fan H, Shakespeare T, Suhrcke M, Horton S, Poland F, Hooper L, Song F, Systematic overview of economic evaluations of Health Related Rehabilitation, Disability and Health Journal

(2016) Shakespeare T, Collins R  Mental health self knowledge: crossing boundaries with Recovery Colleges and Tojisha Kenkyu, in Jaber F. Gubrium, Tone A. Andreassen, and Per K. Solvang,  et al, Reimagining the Human Service Relationship, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

(2016) The Paralympics – superhumans and mere mortals, The Lancet 388, 1137

(2016) Just what is the disability perspective on disability?  Hastings Center Report 46, 3: 31-32

(2015) Hernon, J., Brandon, M., Cossar J. and Shakespeare, T. Recognising and responding (2015) Shi X, Shi J, Wheeler KK, Stallones L, Ameratunga A, Shakespeare T , Smith GA, Xiang H,  Unintentional injuries in children with disabilities: A systematic review and meta-analysis, Injury Epidemiology, 2, 21

to the maltreatment of disabled children: a children’s rights approach, Social Work and Social Science Review 17, 3: 61-77

(2015) Xiang H, Shi X, Wheeler KK, Shi J, Stallones L, Ameratunga A, Shakespeare T, Increased risk of unintentional injuries in adults with disabilities: a systematic review and meta-analysis, Disability and Health Journal, 8, 2: 153-164

(2015) Merkelapper og emblemer: relasjonen mellom diagnose og identitet for funksjonshemming og nevrodiverse samfunn [Labels and badges: the relationship between diagnosis and identity for disability and neurodiversity communities], in P.Kermit, A Gustavsson, A.Kittelsa and Borgunn Ytterhus (eds) Utviklings-Hemming: hverdagsliv, levekår og politik, Oslo: Universitetsforlaget.

(2014) Mikton C, Maguire H, Shakespeare T, A systematic review of effectiveness of interventions to prevent and respond to violence against persons with disabilities, Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 29, 7: 3207-3226

(2014) Vehmas S, Shakespeare T Disability, harm, and the origins of limited opportunities, Cambridge Quarterly of Healthcare Ethics, 23, 1 – 7.

(2014) Nasty, brutish and short, in Bickenbach J, Felder F and Schmitz B (eds) Disability and the Good Human Life, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press

(2014) Bickenbach J, Officer A, Shakespeare T, von Groote, M. (eds) International Perspectives on Spinal Cord Injury, Geneva: WHO.

(2013) Shakespeare T, Kleine I Educating health professionals about disability: a review of interventions. Health and Social Care Education. DOI: 10.11120/hsce.2013.00026

(2012) Jones L, Bellis MA, Wood S, Hughes K, Bates G, Eckley L, McCoy E, Mikton C, Shakespeare T, Officer A.  Prevalence and risk of violence against children with disabilities: a systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies, The Lancet 380: 899–907

(2012) Hughes K, Bellis MA, Jones L, Wood L, Wood S, Bates G, Eckley L, McCoy E, Mikton C, Shakespeare T, Officer A.  Prevalence and risk of violence against adults with disabilities: a systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies. The Lancet 379: 1621–29

(2012) Disability in developing countries, In Routledge Handbook of Disability Studies, edited N.Watson, A.Roulstone and C.Thomas, London, Routledge.

(2012)  It’s the economy, stupid!  The ironic absence of class analysis in British disability studies, In Creating A Society For All: disability and economy, edited by A.Matsui et al, Leeds, Disability Press.

(2011) Shakespeare TW.  Choices, reasons and feelings: penatal diagnosis as disability dilemmas.  ALTER, European Journal of Disability Research, 5: 37-43

(2010) Thompson S, Shakespeare T, Wright M.  Disability and identity across the life course: the restricted growth experience.  Medische Anthropologie, 22, 2: 237-251

(2010) Shakespeare T, Watson N.   Beyond models: understanding the complexity of disabled people’s lives, In New Directions in the Sociology of Chronic and Disabling Conditions, edited G Scambler and S Scambler.  London: Palgrave Macmillan,.

(2010) There are more things in heaven and earth. Human Reproduction and Genetic Ethics, 16,1

(2009) Shakespeare T, Thompson S, Wright MJ.  No laughing matter: medical and social factors in restricted growth, Scandinavian Journal of Disability Research, 12, 1: 19-31

(2009) Disability and the training of health professionals, The Lancet, 374, 9704: 1815 – 1816

(2008) Thompson S, Shakespeare T,  Wright MJ  Medical and social aspects of the life course for adults with a skeletal dysplasia: A review of current knowledge, Disability and Rehabilitation, 30, 1: 1-12

(2008) Debating disability, Journal of Medical Ethics 34: 11-14

(2007) Disability, normality and difference, In Psychological Challenges in Obstetrics and Gynaecology: the clinical management, edited J.Cockburn and ME Pawson, London: Springer Verlag

(2007) Disability and equity: should difference be welcomed?, In Principles of Health Care Ethics, 2nd edition, edited RE Ashcroft, A Dawson, H Draper, JR McMillan, John Wiley, Chichester.

(2006) Scully JL, Shakespeare T,  Banks S, Gift not commodity? Lay people deliberating social sex selection, Sociology of Health & Illness, 28, 6: 749-767

(2006) Banks, S., Scully, J.L. & Shakespeare, T. Ordinary ethics: lay people’s deliberations on social sex selection, New Genetics and Society, 25, 3: 289-303

(2006) Scully JL, Banks S, Shakespeare T,  Chance, choice and control: Lay debate on prenatal social sex selection , Social Science & Medicine, 63, 1:21-31

(2005) Disability, genetics and global justice, Social Policy and Society, 4:1, 87-95

(2005) Sex, death and stereotypes: disability in Sick and Crash, in I.Moor (ed) Medicine and Cinema, London: Wallflower Publications.

(2005) The social context of reproductive choice, in D.Wasserman, J. Bickenbach, R. Wachbroit (eds) Quality of Life and Human Difference: Genetic Testing, Health Care, and Disability, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

(2004) Social models of disability and other life strategies, Scandinavian Journal of Disability Research, 6, 1, pp 8-21

(2004) The art of representation, in J.Lawton, N.Hallowell & S.Gregory (eds) Reflecting upon research: the perils, pitfalls and pleasures of doing social science research, London: Open University Press

(2004) Disability, genetics and human rights, entry in Encyclopedia of Human Genome, Nature Publications.

(2003) I haven’t seen that in the Kama Sutra, in J.Weeks, J. Holland, M.Waites (eds) Sexualities and Society: a reader, Cambridge: Polity  Press.

(2003) Genetics and social policy: new science, old issues, in N.Ellison & C.Pierson (eds), Developments in British Social Policy 2, Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.

(2003) Rights, risks and responsibilities: new genetics and disabled people, in S.J.Williams, L.Birke and G.A.Bendelow (eds) Debating Biology: sociological reflections on health, medicine and society, London: Routledge.

(2002) Banks S. Burlison P, Shakespeare T. Youthwork and biomedicine, Youth and Policy 74, pp 18-39

(2002) Brave new world (II), in B.Davey, A.Gray & C.Searle (eds) Health and Disease: a reader, 3rd edition, Buckingham: Open University Press.

(2001) Shakespeare T, Watson N.  Making the difference: disability, politics, recognition, in G.Albrecht et al, The Handbook of Disability Studies, Sage.

(2001) Shakespeare T, Watson N, The social model of disability: an outdated ideology?  in S.Barnartt and B.Altman (eds) Exploring Theories and Expanding
Methodologies: where are we and where do we need to go?
, JAI, Oxford.

(2000) Disabled sexuality: towards rights and recognition, Journal of Sexuality and Disability, 18, 3, pp 159-166

(2000) Shakespeare T, Erickson M.  Different strokes: beyond biological determinism and social constructionism, in H.Rose & S.Rose, Alas Poor Darwin, London: Jonathan Cape.

(2000) The social relations of care, in S.GEWURTZ, G.LEWIS, J.CLARKE (eds) Rethinking Social Policy, Open University.

(2000) Arguing about disability and genetics, Interaction, pp  11- 14

(1999) ‘Losing the plot’?: medical and activist discourses of contemporary genetics and disability, Sociology of Health and Illness, 21, 5, pp 669-688  [105 citations]

(1999) ‘Je n’ai jamais vu ça dans le Kama Sutra’: histoires sexuelles de personnes handicapées, Handicap – Revue de Sciences Humaines et Sociales, 83, pp 97-110

(1999) The sexual politics of disabled masculinity, Journal of Sexuality and Disability, volume 17, number 1, pp 53-64

(1999) Coming out and coming home, Journal of Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual Identity, volume 4, number 1, pp 39-52

(1999) Art and lies: representations of disability in film, in M.CORKER & S.FRENCH (eds) Disability Discourse, Buckingham: Open University Press.

(1999) What is a disabled person?, in M.JONES & L.MARKS (eds) Disability, Divers-Ability and Legal Change, The Hague: Martinus Nijhoff International Studies in Human Rights.

(1999) When is a man not a man?  When he’s disabled, in J.WILD (ed)  Working with Men for Change, London: UCL Press.

(1999) Disability and Archaeology: Discussant, Archaeological Reviews from Cambridge, 15 (2)

(1999) Joking a part, Body and Society, 5, 4, pp. 47-52

(1998) Shakespeare T and Watson N. Perspectives théoriques sur l’enfance handicapée, Handicaps et Inadaptions (les cahiers du CTNERHI), number 78, pp 71-83

(1998) Choices and rights: eugenics, genetics and disability equality, Disability and Society, 13, 5, pp 665-682

(1998) Shakespeare T and Watson N. Theoretical perspectives on research with disabled children, in C.ROBINSON & K.STALKER (eds) Growing Up with Disability, London: Jessica Kingsley.

(1998) Social constructionism as a political strategy, in I.Velody & R.Williams (eds)  The Politics of  Constructionism, London: Sage.

(1997) Representation of disabled people in television soap operas,  in C. Davies & A. Pointon (eds) Framed: a Disability Media Reader, London, BFI Publications.

(1997) Andre Gorz, in S. SIM (ed) Guide to Social and Political Theory, Harvester Wheatsheaf.

(1997) Researching disabled sexuality, in C.BARNES & G. MERCER (eds.), Doing Disability Research, Leeds: Disability Press.

(1997) (1997) Representation of disabled people in television soap operas,  in C. Davies & A. Pointon (eds) Framed: a Disability Media Reader, London, BFI Publications.

(1997) Shakespeare T, Watson N. Defending the social model, Disability and Society, 12, 2, pp.293-300

(1996) Tom Shakespeare in B.CANT (ed) Invented Identities, London: Cassell

(1996) Disability, identity and difference, in C.Barnes & G. Mercer (eds) Exploring the Divide: Illness and Disability, Leeds: The Disability Press

(1996) Rules of engagement: doing disability research, Disability and Society, 11, 1, pp 115-120

(1996) Power and prejudice: issues of gender, sexuality and disability, in L. Barton (ed) Disability and Society: Emerging Issues and Insights, Harlow, Longmans. [

(1995) Back to the future: new genetics & disabled people, Critical Social Policy 44/45

(1995) Redefining the disability problem, Critical Public Health vol 6 no 2, pp 4-8

(1994) Cultural representation of disabled people: dustbins for disavowal ?  Disability and Society 9,  3, pp 283 – 299.

(1993) Disabled people’s self-organisation: a new social movement?’, Disability and Society, 8, 3, pp. 249- 264.