Welcome back to the DRF 2023-2024! We hope you have had a lovely summer despite it being a bit of a rainy one here in the UK!
As you know for the last few years we have held the DRF online due to the continued threat of COVID-19. We are going to continue to do that this year as well because it has enabled valuable engagement from people outside of the UK.
With the slow demise of Twitter and WordPress removing the ability to tweet posts directly, I will be advertising sessions on the blog, email and from my own Twitter account (@SHannamSwain), so please keep your eyes peeled and share with your networks.
This years sessions will be held on Zoom (but please let me know if another online area is better for you in terms of accessibility) and I have updated our website to give information about privacy, accessibility and presentation guidance. Please check these pages out to keep up to date with how we aim to keep our sessions as accessible as possible for as many people as possible. Unfortunately we are constrained in that we have no funding to help with things like sourcing BSL interpreters, but I aim to give the best experience I can under these constraints.
We are asking you this year to sign up to each event using the Eventbrite site, so that the appropriate link can be sent to you on the morning of the talk. Again, please let me know if you have any accessibility problems using that platform.
The information below is of any events that are upcoming. If you would like to come and present at the DRF (virtually) please get in touch on the email address below. We are keeping things pretty flexible this year and I will try to fit in a time and date that is best for you. As a result some sessions may have two presenters, some may only have one – but with ‘zoom fatigue’ a real thing this may be a good thing!
Ever since it began, an important part of the DRF has been bringing people together. Since 2005 it has worked to create informal networks by providing friendly and encouraging environments in which to discuss and think through all things ‘disability’.
In case you are interested in contributing to one of our future sessions, please contact Steph Hannam-Swain: s.r.hananm-swain@shu.ac.uk . Please also have a look at our guidelines about accessible presentations.
If you have any accessibility requirements please email Steph to try to facilitate.
DRF Events 2023-2024
Date: 17th October
Time: 11am-Noon
Presenter 1, Name: Taskeen Mansoor
To register:
Talk 1, Title: “You are such an inspiration!”: Unpacking Covert Ableism through the lens of Disability Micro-Aggressions
Talk 1, Abstract:
The predominant focus of the disability rights movement, guided by the social model of disability, seems to revolve around addressing macro-level systematic oppression like inaccessibility and discriminatory institutional policies. Bringing the ‘body’ back in the discussion, disability scholars shift the gaze of contemporary research from “spotlight on disability to a more nuanced exploration of epistemologies and ontologies of ableism” (Campbell, 2018), calling for a study of the “pathologies of non-disablement” (Hughes, 2007). Ableism is the affirmation of able-bodiedness and social norms embedded in culture throughout history and exists within the subtleties of daily interactions disguised as well-intentioned comments or behavior. Sue (2010) defines microaggressions as “the everyday verbal, nonverbal, and environmental slights, snubs, or insults, whether intentional or unintentional, that communicate hostile, derogatory, or negative messages to target persons based solely on their marginalized group membership” and categorizes it into micro-assaults, microinsults and microinvalidation. Extracting some initial thoughts from my PhD project that looks at how disabled persons in Pakistan experience ableism, disablism and reframe normalcy in dis/ability worlds, I will, in this talk, specifically reflect upon how wheelchair users experience ableist societal structures. It may be discussed how benevolent, hostile and ambivalent forms of ableism also act as exclusionary practices, with same consequences as active discrimination.
References:
- Campbell, F. (2018). Refocusing on the Paradigm Shift: From Disability to Studies in Ableism. In Disability in South Asia: Knowledge and Experience (pp. 39-57). SAGE Publications.
- Hughes, B. (2007). Being disabled: Towards a critical social ontology for disability studies. Disability & Society, 22(7), 673-684.
- Sue, Derald W. 2010. Microaggressions in everyday life Race, Gender, and Sexual Orientation. New Jersey. John Wiley & Sons.
Date: 18th December 2023
Time: 10-Noon
Presenter 1, Name: Gill Crawshaw
Presenter 2, Name: Richard Woods
To register: Please fill out the registration form
Talk 1, Title: “Any work that wanted doing: an artistic response to research into disabled mill workers”
Talk 1, Abstract:
I’ve been researching the stories of disabled mill workers, to challenge persistent and harmful stereotypes of disabled people, and to acknowledge the contributions that disabled people have made, and continue to make, to our history and culture. I presented some of my research at the Disability Research Forum in January 2022.
Having shared my research via presentations, blog posts and so on, I felt that a creative response would bring the research alive, make it more engaging to a wider audience and bring it up to date. Any work that wanted doing is the title of the resulting exhibition.
As part of Leeds 2023 Year of Culture, funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund, I have commissioned several disabled artists in West Yorkshire (where I’m based) to produce artwork that responds to my research. These artworks are currently displayed, until January 2024, amongst the collection of textile machinery at Leeds Industrial Museum at Armley Mills.
By making art for Armley Mills, once the largest woollen mill in the world, the artists have reclaimed the space for conversations about disability and disabled people’s lives. They make connections between the past and the situation of disabled people today, informed by their own experiences and those of other disabled people.
In this presentation, I will outline the process of curating the exhibition, and share excepts from the artists’ statements, images and descriptions of the artwork.
Talk 2, Title: “The likely adverse effects of “Profound Autism” and “PDA Profile of ASD” discourses.”
Talk 2, Abstract:
The categories within the American Psychiatric Manuals are attributed to persons as reflecting ways of being human and are primarily discussed in deficit-laden language reflecting how the categories are constructed. Despite their many flaws, they are reified by attributing types of distress and/ or perceived impairment. Those attributed to such categories are often adversely affected by such categories’ discourse and ideology. Initially proposed during the 1940s, autism was included in the American Psychiatric Manuals in 1980 as a narrow and rare category. Subsequently, like other psychiatric categories, autism has become a common heterogeneous “spectrum”. Often described as having “low functioning” at one end, and “high functioning” at the other. This, with other deficit-based concepts created stereotypes, adversely affects many autistics. This contributes to autistics being systemically failed by wider society, partly explaining the atrociously autistic suicide rates.
Autism subtypes were partly removed to reduce stigma for autistics, and because evidence and clinical practice indicate negligible differences between subtypes. However, lately there are two proposed subtypes of “Profound Autism”, and “PDA Profile of ASD”. Both categories can describe impairments which can be problematic for those with lived experience and their caregivers, and persons attributed with these categories require suitable support. Both categories are described as “severe” forms of autism, in line with the flawed “low functioning to high functioning spectrum”. Subsequently, the serious problems associated with the linear “spectrum” of, filicide of autistic, autistic suicide, and deaths from diagnostic overshadowing of physical ill-health symptoms attributed to autism; risk being predictably applicable to both proposed subtypes. These issues are discussed through a Critical Autism Studies lens. Both proposed subtypes are functioning categories and ableist concepts, perpetuating the systemic poor treatment of autistics.
Richard Woods is a PhD student at London South Bank University’s Critical Autism Studies/ Disabilities Studies research group and is an Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion panel member for a regional organisation in the United Kingdom. His PhD is investigating the proposed mental Disorder “Pathological Demand Avoidance” (PDA). His other academic interests include Monotropism theory and Autism and the social model of disability.
Date: 23rd January 2024
Time: 11am – 1pm
Presenter 1, Name: Chris Bailey
Presenter 2, Name: Vera Kubenz
To register: Please fill out the registration form
Talk 1, Title: Ruling Passions: Reframing Autistic ‘Special Interests’ using a Neurodivergent Marxist Lens
Talk 1, Abstract:
The concept of ‘special interests,’ denoting an intense and focused preoccupation with specific topics, has long been acknowledged as being entangled with autistic lived experience. Nevertheless, insufficient attention has been devoted to scrutinising the pathologising assumptions and problematic associations that underlie this concept. With this in mind, this study draws upon data derived from engagement with 13 autistic adults, aiming to delve into the complexities of what are commonly referred to as autistic ‘special interests.’
Framed by the Neurodiversity Paradigm (Walker, 2021) and the concept of Neurodivergent Marxism (Chapman, 2023), this presentation endeavours to challenge prevailing assumptions surrounding autistic interests. By reconceptualising them as ‘ruling passions’ – a term most closely associated with work around Literacy Studies – this work explores the nuanced relationships between autistic interests, well-being, identity, literacies, and the construction of meaning. In doing so, I also seek to contest neoliberal conceptualisations of productivity and worth, and suggest that autonomous, interest led preoccupation is a form of resistance against the expectations of neuronormative society.
References:
Chapman, R. (2023) Empire of Normality: Neurodiversity and Capitalis, Pluto Press.
Walker, N. (2021) Neuroqueer Heresies: Notes on the Neurodiversity Paradigm, Autistic Empowerment, and Postnormal Possibilities, Autonomous Press
Talk 2, Title: The politics of parking: Mapping encounters with strangers in accessible parking spaces
Talk 2, Abstract:
In this presentation I present the results from the first stage of my research into disabled people’s encounters with strangers in accessible parking spaces. This includes a content analysis of articles about the Blue Badge parking scheme in major newspapers between 2018 and 2022, to understand the wider discourses in the UK. My findings show that while Blue Badges are not represented in the same negative way as other welfare benefits, media reporting nevertheless relies on essentialist and stereotypical representations of disability. I also present the results from a survey of over 300 Blue Badge holders on the types of encounters that take place in parking spaces, the factors that may contribute to them, the strategies disabled people to navigate them, and the impact these encounters can have. I discuss what the results tell us about who is seen as a ‘legitimate’ person to use parking spaces, how wider societal stereotypes about disability not only persist, but are amplified, in parking spaces. This leads me to question about what it means for a space to be truly accessible.
Date: 23rd February 2024
Time: 11:30am – 1:30pm
Presenter 1, Name: Xavier Tam
Presenter 2, Name: Gemma King
To register: Please fill out the registration form
Talk 1, Title: Theorizing “Cinema of Deafhood” as “New ‘Deaf’ Cinema”: Why is a Deaf-centric Critical Approach (Deafhoodist Film Criticism) Essential to the Development of Deaf Cinema, Deaf Film Festivals, and Sign Language Media?
Talk 1, Abstract:
This presentation will discuss the research on Deaf Cinema (DC), Deaf Film Festival (DFF), and Sign Language Media (SLM). It will provide parameters for understanding these topics and explain why Ladd’s concept of “Deafhood” is crucial as a critical theory when developing and discussing DC, DFF, and SLM. The presentation will also introduce the term “Cinema of Deafhood” and its significance to the construction of a Deaf-centric critical approach to film studies (i.e., Deafhoodist Film Criticism).
In the French language, the term “Silent Cinema” is often referred to as “Cinéma Muet,” which translates to “Mute Cinema” in English. However, Michel Chion, a film theorist and experimental musician, argued that “Cinéma Sourd”, meaning “Deaf Cinema,” is a more accurate description of the film viewing experience of Silent Cinema. [1] This was the very first time “Deaf Cinema” was used in academic scholarship, and Chion’s argument was not related to the identity politics of Deaf people. Rather, it was a debate on whether “Cinéma Muet” or “Cinéma Sourd” best explains the perception of sound in Silent Cinema.
B. Ruby Rich’s essay “New Queer Cinema” was a seminal work that established the concept of Queer Cinema. Rich observed that the emergence of LGBTQ Film Festivals and independent films in the 1990s gave rise to positive portrayals of LGBTQ people and queer consciousness. [2] Prior to Rich’s essay, the idea of “Queer Cinema” was not institutionalized in academic film criticism. The rise of Queer Theory in the 1990s provided the theoretical background for queer film criticism.
In 2003, British Deaf Sociologist Paddy Ladd introduced the term “Deafhood” as a culturo-linguistic model of understanding Deaf Culture. [3] The medical and social models of deafness have long been associated with disability, with the medical model focusing on bodily dysfunctions and the social model concerning how society and the environment disable D/deaf people. Ladd’s notion of “Deafhood” celebrates the use of sign language as the vehicle for Deaf Culture, making the Deaf Community a “culturo-linguistic” minority that is distinct from disability.
As a Deaf Film Festival curator and Deaf Cinema researcher, I felt the need to create new vocabulary to recognize the complexity of Deaf Cinema. In curating the Third Hong Kong International Deaf Film Festival in 2012/13, I coined the term “Cinema of Deafhood” to “re-De(a)fine” our understanding of “Deaf Cinema”, mimicking Rich’s creation of “New Queer Cinema”. [4] This term problematizes Chion’s notion of “Cinéma Sourd” in understanding
Silent Cinema as “Deaf Cinema.” It also incorporates Ladd’s proposition of “Deafhood” as a critical approach to distinguish the representations of D/deaf people in mainstream, commercial films from that of Deaf-centric, independent films. The existing scholarship on Deaf Cinema merely describes how D/deaf people are represented in films but fails to explain how some depictions of D/deaf people are culturally political vis-a-vis Deafhood, Deaf art and social movements, and more.
Bibliography
[1] Chion, Michel. The Voice in Cinema. Translated by Claudia Gorbman. New York: Columbia University Press, 1999.
[2] Rich, B. Ruby. New Queer Cinema : The Director’s Cut. Durham: Duke University Press, 2013.
[3] Ladd, Paddy. Understanding Deaf Culture in Search of Deafhood. Clevedon, England: Multilingual Matters, 2003.
[4] Tam, Siu Yan Xavier. “Two Notions of Deaf Cinema: “Cinema of Deafhood” VS “Cinema of deafness”. Foreword, Programme Booklet, The Third Hong Kong International Deaf Film Festival. https://hkidff.hk/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/leaflet-3rd.pdf
Bio
Siu-Yan “Xavier” TAM is an Instructional Assistant in Social Science at Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. He co-founded and curated the Hong Kong International Deaf Film Festival between 2010 and 2014. His co-directed Deaf mockumentary film Why Signed Songs? premiered at Stockholm Deaf Film Festival (Dövfilmfestival) in 2016, and won Silent Magnolia Award in Best Television Programme at Shanghai International Deaf Film Festival in 2018. As an independent researcher in Deafhood Studies, his research interests include Deaf Cinema, Deaf Film Festivals and Sign Language Media. He is allied with Dr. Gemma King’s “Sign on Screen” project at Australian National University.
Contact Xavier Tam (Instructional Assistant, Division of Social Science, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology) tamsiuyanxavier@gmail.com / xtam@ust.hk / https://sosc.hkust.edu.hk/node/668
Key words:
Deafhood, deafness, Deaf Cinema, Deaf Film Festivals, Sign Language Media, Cinema of Deafhood, Deafhoodist Film Criticism
Talk 2, Title: Superpowers and Deaf Gain in Sign Language Cinemas
Talk 2, Abstract:
Since 2010, more films and series in sign language have been released than in the entire century of film history that preceded it. As Deaf actors and producers such as Marlee Matlin, Lauren Ridloff, Troy Kotsur and Nyle DiMarco gain unprecedented recognition, and as dialogue in sign languages becomes increasingly prevalent on international screens, patterns of d/Deaf representation are beginning to shift. Cinema has a long history of effacing the linguistic complexity of sign, of casting hearing actors in deaf roles and of perpetuating tropes of silence as isolation and deafness as tragedy. These patterns were influenced by a widespread history of discrimination in the form of oralism and audism in the 19th and 20th centuries. However, in recent years, sign language cinema has not only exponentially grown, but it has begun to reflect more authentic Deaf perspectives, as more Deaf creators are included in the writing, production and filming process. In the 2020s in particular, sign language cinema is increasingly dominated by Deaf characters who are not only powerful agents of self-determination, but literal superheroes.
Drawing on the work of Deaf Crit scholars Paddy Ladd and H. Dirksen Bauman and their concept of ‘Deaf Gain’ (2014), this paper zooms in on a growing body of sign language film and television texts that represent Deaf superheroes. From Eternals (Chloé Zhao 2021) to Hawkeye (Jonathan Igla 2022), via El Deafo (Cece Bell 2022) and SuperDeafy (Troy Kotsur 2017), this corpus shows us d/Deaf characters whose deafness is either irrelevant to their physical prowess, or the direct source of superhuman abilities linked to sign language, vibration perception, lip reading, spatial awareness or heightened vision. Several of these protagonists are multiply disabled, or occupy intersectional identities. Of her role as Makkari in Eternals, Black Deaf actor Lauren Ridloff has praised the power of positive minority representation for d/Deaf people, especially children, in ways that parallel the role model effect of Black Panther for Black children, Wonder Woman for girls or Captain Marvel for Queer youth. However none of these superhero texts are fully Deaf-led, and are still filtered through hearing societal norms.
Situating these films and series in a mostly (but not solely) US context, the paper examines the striking changes to Deaf representation they provide, while also critiquing their picture of unattainable exceptionalism. It will then turn to a range of recent screen texts which provide a counterimage to this Deaf exceptionalism, in which radically humanising narratives paint a picture of Deaf normality. Throughout, it asks what our screens can tell us about sign language, deafness and power- and why it matters who is doing the telling.
Bio
Gemma King is Senior Lecturer in French at the Australian National University. Her research focuses on contemporary francophone cinemas and museums, as well as transnational screen cultures. From 2023-2026, she is an Australian Research Council DECRA Fellow on the project ‘Sign on Screen: Language, Culture and Power in Sign Language Cinemas’. She is the author of the books Decentring France: Multilingualism and Power in Contemporary French Cinema (Manchester University Press, 2017) and Jacques Audiard (2021), a volume in Manchester UP’s French Film Directors series.
Date: Wednesday, 13th March
Time: 11am-1pm
Presenter 1, Name: Erin Pritchard
Presneter 2, Name: Katrine Risbank Jensen
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.
Date: 19th April
Time: 10am-Noon
Presenter 1, Name: Fran Urbistondo Cano
Presenter 2, Name: Holly Burkinshaw
To register: https://forms.office.com/e/aSWDu7NeER
Talk 1, Title: Autism and Learning Disabilities: A Relationship-Centred Approach for Support Workers in
Social Care
Talk 1, Abstract:
Adults labelled as ‘having autism and learning disabilities’ in
England receive the support of the social care system through the
assistance of paid staff called ‘care and support workers’ or
‘personal assistants’. The market offers different kinds of training
for care staff, such as Active Support, Person-centred Thinking and
Planning, Positive Behaviour Support (PBS), Low Arousal Approach, and
the SPELL framework. In my presentation, I will share some ideas and
reflections on an ecological perspective of social care, highlighting
key characteristics of available training and approaches, and invite a
shift from what in social care is traditionally called
‘person-centred’, to what I refer to as a ‘relationship-centred
approach’. As a systemically oriented Counselling Psychologist, I will
explain how I developed a model to engage with support workers.
Adopting a fiction-based approach, I will illustrate the complexities
of such work involving personal, professional, and socio-cultural
perspectives. The examples portray common scenarios from practice that
many care workers might find familiar. Finally, this presentation is
based on my inquiry conducted for a Professional Doctorate in Systemic
Practice which focused on autism and LD in the context of social care.
The inquiry contributes learning to professional support for autistics
with learning disabilities by inviting examination of personal and
professional experiences, stimulating professional debate, and
generating knowledge about working alongside care workers and people
who use services from a dialogical, relational, and social
constructionist stance.
Bio
Dr Fran Urbistondo Cano is a systemically-oriented Counselling
Psychologist originally from Argentina. He works with people labelled
as having autism and learning disabilities in social care, the NHS,
and the forensic system in England. Fran is also a course tutor and
research supervisor for the Professional Doctorate in Systemic
Practice at the University of Bedfordshire. His research is on the
deconstruction of psychological narratives about people with learning
disabilities and autism and promoting a relational model for social
care.
Contact
francisco.urbistondocano@beds.ac.uk
Keywords:
Autism, learning disabilities, intellectual disabilities, social care,
care workers, support workers, training, person-centred,
relationship-centred, systemic, relational, dialogical, fiction-based
research.
Talk 2, Title: Exploration children’s narrations of long term and reoccurring hospitalisation
Talk 2, Abstract:
This presentation reports on a qualitative study that was conducted for a PhD thesis. The research was concerned with the experiences of long term or regularly hospitalised children and young people. The study involved the recruitment of six participants to explore the research question: what we can learn from the stories that people choose to share about their experiences of hospitalisation. While much has been improved in relation to children’s hospitals and the care that children receive, there is significant concern in literature and policy alike for children aged between 11-16 years old. This thesis attends to some of these concerns. Several disciplines have contributed to the understanding of children in hospital, including psychology, sociology, childhood studies, disabled children’s childhood studies, critical disability studies, nursing, and medicine. The study grounds itself in disabled children’s childhood studies (Curran et al. 2013) and utilises poststructuralist thought and concepts of spatiality to explore the multi-modal data. Developing a cross methodological approach, the study develops and employs a narrative-autoethnographic approach to research methodology. It exploits the richness of different modes of storytelling to situate the researcher’s stories alongside those of participants in the study. I move on to discuss how young people in the hospital had an idea of the way that they were perceived by others, which they found limiting and oppressive. A strong theme which emerged from the data was that of not feeling heard or being misunderstood whilst in hospital; this theme is explored in the study in relation to power. The theme of fear, despite dominating medical literature, came through more subtly highlighting a need to better understand children and young people’s fears, as well as how important the mundane was for young people. This study identified a need to continuously problematise notions of normalcy, especially in terms of children’s communication. It identifies an urgent need to develop ways of multi-modal listening to young people in hospital, and thus has implications for policy, practice, research and theory, respectively. The thesis calls for a more nuanced understanding of non-verbal communication employed by many young people, whilst also reflecting on how we can better hear young people’s communication.
Disability Research Forum 