Disability's affect: Or, refugees, communication and community

Cultural theorists have given much attention recently to the notion of 'affect', yet such discussions have not seriously, if at all, raised the question of disability. However we would suggest that disability has very strong relationships with affect. In this paper we argue for the importance of rethinking affect and communication from the perspective of a critical, socio-political account of disability. To illustrate this, we look at affect and disability in two important cases of refugees in Australia.

Reclaiming Community? From Welfare Society to Welfare State in Australian Catholic Social Thought

Influenced by both conservative and left wing communitarian thinking, current debate about welfare governance in Australia reflects an inflated evaluation of the potential role of the third sector or civil society organisations in the production fo welfare. This paper gives an overview of twentieth century Australian Catholics social thinking about state, market and civil society relations in the production of welfare. It highlights the neglected, historical role of the Catholic Church in promoting a 'welfare society' over a 'welfare state' in Australia. It points to the reasons for the Church's later embrace of the welfare state and suggests that these reasons should make us deeply sceptical of the current communitarian fad.