Leeds Disability Studies Conference 2024

Information taken from: https://disability-studies.leeds.ac.uk/conference/call-for-papers/ Please access the link for more details.

We invite presentations, collective discussion and debate which engage with, challenge and provoke the principles and practice of Disability Studies – from both within or beyond the discipline. We particularly encourage submissions that privilege the voices of those who have been marginalised and on topics that have hitherto not been the focus of Disability Studies activity.

Abstracts and proposals (of up to 300 words) can be submitted electronically at https://app.oxfordabstracts.com/stages/36496/submitter

Deadline for submissions:  Tuesday 30^th April 2024

Proposal Reviews: May 2024

Proposal Acceptance Notification: Monday 3^rd June

Deadline for Presenter registration for inclusion in the programme schedule: Friday 5th July

Last call for DRF Event 5. Wednesday 13th March, 11am – 1pm. Erin Pritchard and Katrine Risbank Jensen will be speaking about “Midgetism: Exploring the exploitation and discrimination of dwarfism” and “A Family Disabled: Negotiating the Meaning of Disability in the Danish Social Welfare System”

To register: https://forms.office.com/e/2UgczDpCb2

Talk 1, Title: Midgetism: Exploring the exploitation and discrimination of dwarfism

Talk 1, Abstract:

People with dwarfism experience oppression which is informed by both heightism and disablism, and thus separately these terms cannot truly demonstrate these oppressive attitudes and encounters within society. Drawing on findings from my newest book, Midgetism: the exploitation and discrimination of people with dwarfism, this presentation introduces the term Midgetism, to explore the oppression people with dwarfism experience. The book engages with autocritical discourse analysis in order to examine problematic representations, which I argue are informed by and further encourage midgetism within society, exemplified by my own personal experiences as a woman with dwarfism. Furthermore, it argues as to why the term midget, when referring to a ‘midget entertainer’, should be reclaimed and repurposed for analytical and advocacy purposes only. It is argued that midget entertainment, such as midget tossing and midget wrestling, is a key factor in reinforcing midgetism within society. Particular reference is made to the problematic assumptions, held by average-sized people, who claim that midget entertainment is an acceptable form of employment for people with dwarfism, exposing the socially constructed inferior standing of them within society.

Keywords: midgetism, dwarfism, midget entertainer, autocritical discourse analysis, oppression

Talk 2, Title: A Family Disabled: Negotiating the Meaning of Disability in the Danish Social Welfare System

Talk 2, Abstract:

In this talk I will be presenting my PhD project, A Family Disabled: Negotiating the Meaning of Disability in the Danish Social Welfare System. The aim of the project is to generate knowledge regarding the consequences experienced by families comprising children with disabilities (disabled families) when faced with navigating the complex beliefs and expectations set forth by welfare professionals in the context of the Danish social welfare system. To accomplish this, I focus on the families’ embodied experiences of disability by applying an ethnographic intercorporeal perspective. How interactions with welfare professionals affect their quality of life, and which strategies they actively employ to gain influence over their own existence and social identity, are just some of the questions this project delves into.

There is still time to grab a spot! DRF Event 5. Wednesday 13th March. Erin Pritchard and Katrine Risbank Jensen will be speaking about “Midgetism: Exploring the exploitation and discrimination of dwarfism” and “A Family Disabled: Negotiating the Meaning of Disability in the Danish Social Welfare System”

To register: https://forms.office.com/e/2UgczDpCb2

Talk 1, Title: Midgetism: Exploring the exploitation and discrimination of dwarfism

Talk 1, Abstract:

People with dwarfism experience oppression which is informed by both heightism and disablism, and thus separately these terms cannot truly demonstrate these oppressive attitudes and encounters within society. Drawing on findings from my newest book, Midgetism: the exploitation and discrimination of people with dwarfism, this presentation introduces the term Midgetism, to explore the oppression people with dwarfism experience. The book engages with autocritical discourse analysis in order to examine problematic representations, which I argue are informed by and further encourage midgetism within society, exemplified by my own personal experiences as a woman with dwarfism. Furthermore, it argues as to why the term midget, when referring to a ‘midget entertainer’, should be reclaimed and repurposed for analytical and advocacy purposes only. It is argued that midget entertainment, such as midget tossing and midget wrestling, is a key factor in reinforcing midgetism within society. Particular reference is made to the problematic assumptions, held by average-sized people, who claim that midget entertainment is an acceptable form of employment for people with dwarfism, exposing the socially constructed inferior standing of them within society.

Keywords: midgetism, dwarfism, midget entertainer, autocritical discourse analysis, oppression

Talk 2, Title: A Family Disabled: Negotiating the Meaning of Disability in the Danish Social Welfare System

Talk 2, Abstract:

In this talk I will be presenting my PhD project, A Family Disabled: Negotiating the Meaning of Disability in the Danish Social Welfare System. The aim of the project is to generate knowledge regarding the consequences experienced by families comprising children with disabilities (disabled families) when faced with navigating the complex beliefs and expectations set forth by welfare professionals in the context of the Danish social welfare system. To accomplish this, I focus on the families’ embodied experiences of disability by applying an ethnographic intercorporeal perspective. How interactions with welfare professionals affect their quality of life, and which strategies they actively employ to gain influence over their own existence and social identity, are just some of the questions this project delves into.