The Alt works as a counter-narrative method to prevent the masking of disability in [aff’s topic area].

The term master narrative, or grand narrative, was first introduced by French philosopher Jean-Francois Lyotard (1984). Such narratives are hallmarks of “the enlightenment and Western philosophical tradition” (Giroux, 1993, p. 463) that act to universalize and cast dialogues in binary, contrasting categories that support the maintenance of dominant groups. A master narrative is a script that specifies and controls how some social processes are carried out. Furthermore, there is a master narrative operating in academia that often defines and limits what is valued as scholarship and who is entitled to create scholarship. This is problematic, because the dominant group in academia writes most research and, more often than not, they are White men. Members of marginalized groups, such as women and people of color, have had little or no input into the shaping of this master narrative. Therefore, research on marginalized groups by members of marginalized groups that reveals experiences that counter master narratives is often compared against the White norm (Fine, Weis, Powell, & Wong, 1997). Perspectives that run opposite or counter to the presumed order and control are counter narratives. These narratives, which do not agree with and are critical of the master narrative, often arise out of individual or group experiences that do not fit the master narratives. Counter narratives act to deconstruct the master narratives, and they offer alternatives to the dominant discourse in educational research. They provide, for example, multiple and conflicting models of understanding social and cultural identities. They also challenge the dominant White and often predominantly male culture that is held to be normative and authoritative. Such counter narratives in higher education by women faculty members and faculty members of color might suggest that differences exist for them in their academic experiences that are distinct from those of majority White faculty members (Erler & Kowaleski, 2003). For example, these targeted groups often give voice to counter experiences related to individual, institutional, and societal oppression that shape their behaviors in a given situation (Fine, Ayala, & Perkins, 2000; Romero & Stewart, 1999). These alternative lenses of analyses and interpretations of experiences frequently question and criticize master narratives.