Critical Disability Studies
A New Exchange
Referring to a diverse, interdisciplinary set of approaches, Critical Disability Studies analyzes the idea of “disability” from cultural, historical, social, and political vantage points and places the disabled at its centre. Critical Disability Studies views disability as both a lived reality in which the experiences of people with disabilities are central to interpreting their place in the world, and also looks at what we mean by disability, as a social and political definition based on societal power relations. This area of study involves academics and people representing multiple disciplines and lived perspectives who wish to challenge approaches that pathologize physical, mental, neurological, and sensory difference as being in need of some kind of "correction." Critical Disability Studies advocates for both accommodation and equality for people in all areas of life. Barriers to education, employment, transportation and a host of services, both public and private, all come under the scrutiny of Critical Disability Studies, a field that works toward universal accessibility.
PARTICIPANTS, CONVENERS, AND OBJECTIVES
Multiple actions will be required to better understand how we can build capacity for research and the exchange of knowledge that will ultimately work towards full and meaningful inclusion.
Conveners: The Research and Knowledge Exchange is convened by Dr. Laura Pacheco (Memorial University School of Social Work) and by Dr. Andreae Callanan (Memorial University Office of Public Engagement).
Participants: Through this Exchange, NLCAHR has established a forum where you can share your knowledge about Critical Disability Studies and learn about the perspectives of others: healthcare workers and decision makers, patients/persons with lived experiences, caregivers, community organizations, university partners (students, staff, and faculty) and government partners.
Activities and Objectives: The group will meet to discuss research and practice knowledge; to share lived experience and community knowledge; and to build capacity for collaboration and partnerships to support action towards change on various levels.
All voices will be welcome as we strive to integrate lived experience and the experience and knowledge of academic researchers, healthcare providers, community partners and policy makers in collaborative research, practice and policy directions designed to improve accessibility for all.
Where do YOU come in? Participation in the NLCAHR Research and Knowledge Exchanges is a low-pressure proposition. Your level of involvement will be determined by your own interest and availability. Joining this group means that your email will be added to a membership listing and you will be invited to presentations and events, you will have regular opportunities to network and to meet with people who share your interest in this topic, and you will be kept up-to-date about the activities of the group, which will be collaboratively determined by the conveners and by you, as a participant.
The key to success for this group will be a diversity of perspectives— all are welcome! Please invite anyone in your networks who may have an interest to join us by emailing rochellebaker@mun.ca to sign up.
Meetings and Presentations
March 28, 2025 | Ph.D. Research in Critical Disability Studies:The Ubuntu Model of Disability with Sibusiso Moyo and Ableism Within the Healthcare System and Post-Secondary Education with Jaime Blenus | Emerging scholars in the field of Critical Disability Studies engaged with the Exchange in discussions to help advance their research. The presentation and discussion centered on: The Ubuntu Model of Disability with Sibusiso Moyo, PhD student in the School of Social Work at Memorial University, exploring how the Ubuntu Model of Disability could be used to examine the experiences of parents with intellectual disabilities within Zimbabwe. Included in the discussion were the key principles of the Ubuntu model of disability and how this can expand our understanding of disability that is rooted in culture, relationships, community, solidarity and support. Sibu will also share how she hopes to examine the experiences of parents with intellectual disabilities in Zimbabwe and how this will contribute to a broader conceptualization of caregiving that considers the intersections of race, culture, gender and disability. Then, Jaime Blenus, PhD student in Health at Dalhousie University and Accessibility Health Consultant with IWK, shared her proposed research on ableism within the healthcare system and post-secondary education. Her presentation will focus on the usage of autoethnography and narrative approaches to identify the experiences of ableism, internalized ableism and explore the often-ignored effects of ableism on the personal level.
January 17, 2025 12:30pm NT | Accesssibility Panel and roundtable discussion | Melanie Coughlin (Mel) is a Jointly Appointed Assistant Professor, Department of Religious Studies and Department of Philosophy at Memorial University whose research is focused on Japanese Buddhist philosophers' contemporary applications to social philosophy. Her research includes critiques of ableism and seeks to build coalition between feminist and disability interests. She has just started a new research project about Yoritaka Shinenobu's alternative to the progressivist social model of disability. He calls this alternative, "living together on a downward trajectory." As a disabled person, Mel finds this new framework promising. For this panel, Mel will discuss how focusing on accessibility as ”a problem to be resolved” often considers ableism as a problem of the past while disregarding the ongoing ableism that continues to creatively build inaccessibility at all levels of society. She will discuss moving away from this framework towards one in which ongoing inquiry into access needs is intrinsic to how we approach and design our world. Mel would also like members of the group to consider the limitations of “greater and greater accessibility” as an overarching goal in some contexts, such as Medical Assistance in Dying. Is there a way to think about access that avoids the dangers of this policy's ongoing expansion, or is a different goal than access what we need today? | Angie Follett (aka Au Addison Cochrane) is a Patient and Family Experience Advisor (PFEA) for the NL Health Services Urban Zone, and Autistic, Disability, Aging and Poverty Consultant (Community-based), and the Producer and Co-Creator - AltermindsNL Podcast who will talk about the many challenges she has encountered with accessibility, especially as these relate to healthcare, social support, and other community contexts, sharing her experience as an Autistic person who is also blind, hearing impaired, and physically disabled. | Christine Taylor Fearing is an interdisciplinary queer writer, performer, and SSHRC doctoral fellow pursuing an Interdisciplinary PhD at Memorial University while residing in Victoria, British Columbia. Profoundly Dyslexic and Neurodivergent with a visual disability, she describes herself as a writer who can’t read and a scholar who can’t spell. Her research bridges metaphorical research and creation, disruptive arts practice, and Crip theory to challenge academic and artistic norms. Integrating ritual, accessible installations, and multimodal approaches, Christine highlights the embodied experiences of Neurodivergence and Disability. Leveraging AI and innovative tools, she creates accessible platforms for knowledge dissemination while advocating for Crip Time, trauma-informed access, and recognition of the invisible labour of Disabled and Mad scholars. Her work reframes Disability as a source of transformative and creative potential.
After the panelists shared their insights, we hosted a broader conversation about accessibility and invited participants to share their insights and ideas.
November 13, 2024 at 2:00PM NT | : Interrogating the Efficacy of Conventional Disability Advocacy | Given the post-COVID deterioration in quality of life (locally and globally), having polite meetings with elected officials to advocate for disability justice does not seem to be working. In fact, it has not worked in decades. The organizational model of advocacy has, in itself, become a barrier to disability justice. How do independent people (i.e., people who are not working for any organization) activate and organize with no access to funding, no organizational support, in an environment that is rife with barriers, most notably the complexity of doing something as basic as congregating? Is there space for (more) militant, human-rights focused advocacy in Newfoundland and Labrador? About our Presenter: Anne Malone is a Disability Rights Activist who has a sensory disability (sight loss), and whose work emanates from her own experiences of ableism, after many years of living in a world that perceived her as “normal”. Anne is a TED-X St. John’s alumni (License to Beg, 2015), emerging author (Popcorn For the Blind (essay), Voices From The Shore anthology), and has appeared in two documentaries(Honk If You See Me In The Road, How To Fail At Accessibility) and broadcast news media productions. In 2021, as an expression of protest, Anne stood as a candidate-at-large in the St. John’s, NL municipal election. Her platform advocated that the City adopt a Universal Design policy as a solution to the woefully inaccessible conditions experienced by people with disabilities or other mobility barriers in St. John’s. Anne lives in St. John’s NL, where she navigates a complex urban environment with the support of her Guide Dog, Purdy.
September 27 2024 at 12:30PM | INTRODUCING THE RKE ON CRITICAL DISABILITY STUDIES | The agenda for the first meeting of this exchange include welcoming and introducing members and conveners, an overview of the program, a disucsson of goals and objectives and the style and frequency of future meetings for this new exchange. It is important to note from the outset that we are not just about research, and we welcome all kinds of knowledge and welcome participants to share experiences to help develop aspects of knowledge exchange that are not strictly research based.
CDS Notes from September 27 2024 Meeting