معرفی
Harriet Cooper is a Lecturer in Medical Education (Sociology) at Norwich Medical School, University of East Anglia. She serves as Course Director for the MA Medical and Health Humanities and leads sociology and reflective practice teaching in the undergraduate medical program.
Her educational background includes a Doctor of Health Science in Medical Sociology from UEA (2021) and a Doctor of Letters in Critical Disability Studies from Birkbeck, University of London (2015), along with multiple MA degrees in Cultural and Critical Studies and English Literature.
Her research focuses on the intersection of medical humanities, critical disability studies, and medical sociology. Key themes include the lived experience of disabled children, internalized oppression, shame, stigma, and the socio-political dimensions of rehabilitation. She draws on critical theory—particularly Judith Butler, Sara Ahmed, and the British Cultural Studies tradition—to analyze how cultural and medical discourses shape disabled subjectivities.
Her recent publications reveal a consistent focus on rethinking rehabilitation through a disability justice lens, challenging medical models, and centering disabled people’s voices. Her work often combines personal narrative with theoretical analysis, particularly in her monograph Critical Disability Studies and the Disabled Child (2020).
- Can a disability studies-medical sociology rapprochement help re-value the work disabled people do within their rehabilitation? (2023)
- Medical Education, Politics and Social Justice: A Review (2022)
- Critical Disability Studies and the Disabled Child (2020)
- The fantasy of maternal autonomy and the disabled mother (2020)
- Rehabilitation as a disability equality issue (2018)
Harriet Cooper is actively involved in research networks such as the Ends of Knowledge research network, the Eastern ARC Medical Humanities Network, and the Norfolk and Waveney Arts and Health Collaborative, indicating strong collaborative and interdisciplinary engagement. She previously served as Associate Editor (Book Reviews) for The Polyphony, a leading medical humanities blog.
While no formal students are listed, her leadership in postgraduate and undergraduate programs suggests significant mentorship and teaching responsibilities. She has secured research funding from NIHR ARC EoE and has contributed to shaping inclusive, socially just medical curricula.
