The Centre for Disability Studies (University of Leeds) Postgraduate Conference Organising Committee were pleased to invite early career researchers to the CDS PG conference 2019. This year the overall theme of the event was: ‘Disability Studies: Past, Present and Future’
The conference took place 11-12 July 2019
Venue: University of Leeds, Social Sciences Building
This was a student-led and student-run event. Students who are currently undertaking or who have recently completed any level of postgraduate study in the field of Disability Studies (any disciplinary background) were invited to present a paper or poster. The conference provided a friendly, supportive platform for PGs to present research and celebrate progress and advancements in the understanding of disability and disability activism. The promotion of engagement between PGs, academics and disability activists was at the heart of the conference.
Day 1 Keynote speaker: Professor Roger Slee (University of South Australia), internationally renowned researcher in Disability Studies in Education and leading expert on Inclusive Education.
Day 2 Plenary speaker: Professor Colin Barnes (University of Leeds), leading scholar in Disability Studies, whose work on disability politics and policy has been influential, globally.
Interactive Workshop: Dr Fiona Kumari Campbell (University of Dundee), internationally renowned scholar and pioneer of Studies in Ableism.
We were delighted that two disabled people's organisations - GMCDP and LDPO - also participated in this event.
Click here for the Conference Programme
Click here for Book of Abstracts
Below is a montage of photos from the day [description: conference flier, presenters 'in action', audience shots & sample of tweets from delegates stating that they had enjoyed and learnt much from the event]
The CDS Postgraduate Conference (11-12 July 2019) was a wonderful event. We are so proud of the Organizing Team, composed of our postgraduate students (MA Disability Studies and PhD). There will be a write-up of the event in due course. For now, however, we want to celebrate the interdisciplinary nature of the occasion. There were papers by early career researchers in Sociology, Law, History, Design, Psychology and many more fields. We were also delighted to welcome delegates from across the UK (many of whom were international students) and delegates who traveled from Malta, Sweden and elsewhere.The papers were of excellent quality and all were thought-provoking. It was a real showcase of the research and innovation (theoretical, methodological and in terms of impact generation) of early career researchers in Disability Studies. The event confirmed our feelings that there is a very exciting future ahead for interdisciplinary Disability Studies, globally!(N.B. at Leeds many of us use the term 'Disability Studies' to encompass a range of approaches which consider dis/ability as a social justice issue, including Critical Disability Studies).Thank you so much to Professor Roger Slee, of the University of South Australia, for his inspiring Keynote, in which he set forth an agenda for Inclusive Education, which he feels is at risk of stalling if we do not 'call out ableism for what it is', rethink teacher education and consign the concept of 'special educational needs' to the 'rubbish bin of history' (quote Roger). Thank you to Dr Fiona Kumari Campbell, of the University of Dundee, for a wonderful workshop exploring how Studies in Ableism can help frame research and methodologies. Thank you to Professor Colin Barnes (retired, now Emeritus Professor) for giving the final plenary and sharing his journey, his experiences of: working with BCODP, establishing Disability Studies teaching at Leeds and the Centre for Disability Studies.Many staff from the Centre attended the event to offer their support, feedback and encouragement. They have all expressed how much they enjoyed the papers. Thank you to Ieva Eskyte, Amanda Keeling, Maria Orchard, Alison Sheldon and others.Below is a montage of photos taken at the event, just to give a flavour. [Images of conference flier, presenters in action, audience photos and a selection of tweets from delegates saying they had enjoyed the event]
Posted by Centre for Disability Studies, University of Leeds on Saturday, July 13, 2019
From the Conference Team
(Left to right) Rebecca Porter, Hannah McGurk, Gayatri Gulvady and Bethan Gifford. Presenters at Annual Postgraduate Conference 2018.
