Robert McRuer
Crip / Queer Theorist
Robert McRuer is a writer and speaker whose work is situated at the intersections of the interdisciplinary fields of disability studies and queer theory.
His award-winning 2006 book Crip Theory: Cultural Signs of Queerness and Disability has been translated into three languages.
He is a Professor of English at George Washington University, where he teaches queer theory, disability studies, and critical theory more generally.
His award-winning 2006 book Crip Theory: Cultural Signs of Queerness and Disability has been translated into three languages.
He is a Professor of English at George Washington University, where he teaches queer theory, disability studies, and critical theory more generally.
News and events
Upcoming event
2026
“Global Trajectories of Disability Justice”
This presentation will critique the universally lauded 2020 documentary Crip Camp, particularly by examining how it reproduces disability discourses that are very U.S.-centric.
By focusing primarily on American narratives, the film risks overlooking the rich and diverse histories of disability activism globally.
McRuer’s analysis will take a “crip elsewhere” stance, approaching disability and disability justice from different locations.
When: April 24, 2026
Where: UWindsor, Collaboratory, Leddy Library
Upcoming event
2026
Diplomatura Superior Enfoques Críticos en torno a la Discapacidad
Esta Diplomatura aspira a problematizar los procesos sociales que crean e imponen límites normativos a la condición humana, así como sus consecuencias en la vida de poblaciones expulsadas de esos límites. El eje de la propuesta estará puesto en aquellas personas catalogadas como discapacitadas.
When: April 7, 2026
Where: Universidad Nacional Villa María
Upcoming event
2026
Disability, Revolution
Disability, Revolution, the forthcoming book by Robert McRuer, offers a bold and timely rethinking of disability politics for our current moment. Moving beyond narrow, single-issue frameworks, the book explores the rich, interconnected landscape of disability justice—where queer and crip movements, mad pride, neurodiversity, and global activism converge.
Accessible and urgent, Disability, Revolution reveals how these movements challenge systems of oppression and open up new possibilities for solidarity, care, and collective transformation. More than an introduction, it is an invitation to imagine—and help build—alternative disabled futures.
Coming September 2026.
When: September 1, 2026
Upcoming event
2025
2025 Butler Waugh Lecture
Join us for the 2025 Butler Waugh Lecture featuring Professor Robert McRuer as he explores global perspectives on disability, critiquing Crip Camp and reimagining disability narratives beyond U.S.-centric frameworks. Through a counter-reading of the Bolivian documentary La lucha [The Fight], McRuer presents a vision of “crip camps yet to come,” fostering a more inclusive and global solidarity.
When: March 13, 2025
Where: Familly Club FIU MMC
2024
Crip Theory Portuguese translation
Reprinted as Teoria Crip. Signos culturais entre o queer e a deficiência. Translated into Portuguese by a group of 13 academics. Rio de Janeiro, Pageis Selvagens
2023
Crip Theory Italian Translation
Reprinted as Teoria Crip: Segni culturali di queerness e disabilità. Translated into Italian by Vale Baldioli, Beatrice Gusmano, and Matu d’Epifanio. Bologna: Odoya, 2023.
2021
Finalist for a 2021 Association of American Publishers (AAP) PROSE Award.
A Cultural History of Disability
2021
Crip Theory Spanish Translation
Reprinted as Teoría Crip: Signos culturales de lo queer y de la discapacidad. Translated into Spanish by Javier Sáez del Álamo. Madrid: Kaótica Libros, 2021
2009
Full Professor, Department of English,
George Washington University
2007
Winner of the 2007 Alan Bray Memorial Book Award
By the GL/Q Caucus of the Modern Language Association
2007
Finalist for a 2007 Lambda Literary Award in LGBT Studies
Upcoming event
2006
Crip Theory Publication
Crip Theory the greatest and most renknown book is published.
When: December 9, 2006
2005
Associate Professor
Department of English, George Washington University
1997
Assistant Professor
Department of English, George Washington University
1997
The Queer Renaissance Publication
1995
Post-Doctoral Fellow
Department of English, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
1995
Ph.D. English,
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
1990
M.A. English
English, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
1988
Undergraduate Instructor
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
"Although neoliberalism constantly tells us There Is No Alternative, McRuer meticulously documents and analyzes those who, as the late Manning Marable urged, celebrate our passionate discontent with the way things are."
"Crip Times demonstrates the hallmarks of Robert McRuers scholarship, highlighting his formidable skills as a writer and theorist. Weve needed a text like Crip Times to unpack the cultural logics of neoliberalism as it attends to disability and austerity, and McRuer does so with an approach that transcends disciplines and national contexts."
"A brilliant, ambitious, and wide-ranging book, Crip Times reveals the centrality of notions of disability to global austerity politics. McRuer has crafted new, original, and dazzling theoretical architectures with which to move forward."
Books
2026
Disability, Revolution
In "Disability, Revolution," Robert McRuer challenges the conventional narratives surrounding disability, revealing how a single-issue focus can obscure the broader struggles faced by disabled individuals. This thought-provoking work delves into the rich tapestry of disability justice movements, highlighting the powerful intersections of queer and crip activism, mad pride, and neurodiversity. McRuer invites readers to envision a world where solidarity transcends differences, offering essential insights for anyone passionate about social justice. Discover how these vibrant movements can inspire us to reimagine a more inclusive and liberated future for all.
2020
A Cultural History of Disability
How has our understanding and treatment of disability evolved in Western culture? How has it been represented and perceived in different social and cultural conditions?
2012
Sex & Disabilty
The title of this collection of essays, Sex and Disability, unites two terms that the popular imagination often regards as incongruous. The major texts in sexuality studies, including queer theory, rarely mention disability, and foundational texts in disability studies do not discuss sex in much detail.
1997
Queer Renaissance
Contemporary American Literature and the Reinvention of Lesbian and Gay Identities