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September 2007 - August 2008

Date

August 2008

This year sees changes in the management of the Centre and the retirement of Dr Geof Mercer, a founding member who contributed extensively to CDS teaching, research and publications. We are grateful to Geof for his long-standing contribution to disability studies.

Dr Laura Hemingway is appointed to a temporary lectureship (School of Sociology and Social Policy), and the Directorship of CDS passes from Prof Colin Barnes to Prof Mark Priestley in September.

Leeds was the venue for a two day British Academy seminar on Iberoamerican perspectives on disability, including discussion of research and teaching in Ecuador, Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, Venezeula, Colombia, Jamaica, Spain, Portugal, UK, Belgium and USA.

July 2008

Congratulations to all our students who graduated in the University degree ceremonies this month. We wish you luck for your future.

We are pleased to announce the publication of a new title in the Disability Press book series, Disability Studies; emerging insights and perspectives, edited by Thomas Campbell, Fernando Fontes, Laura Hemingway, Armineh Soorenian and Chris Till (Sociology and Social Policy).

As part of the FP7 EuRADE project, disabled people's organisations and researchers (from 15 European countries) met in Leeds for a week-long 'research summer school' to learn about disability research and to develop ideas for collaborative user-led research projects.

June 2008

Stuart Murray (School of English) published a new book this month - Representing Autism: culture, narrative, fascination, which explores representations of autism in literature and film and also draws on his experience as a parent.

Colin Barnes (Sociology and Social Policy) gave the opening plenary paper, on 'Disability Studies, the Academy and Inclusion', to the first major social science conference on disability in France.

Mark Priestley (Sociology and Social Policy) made an invited presentation to the European Union High Level Group on Disability in Brussels (Belgium) on the work of the EU Commission's Academic Network of European Disability experts (ANED).

May 2008

As part of the FP7 EuRADE project, a major consultation survey was launched at the European Disability Forum annual meeting in Slovenia this month. Responses are welcomed from disabled people's organisations throughout Europe.

Congratualtions to Dr Laura Hemingway, who successfully defended her PhD thesis on disabled people's access to home ownership and finance.

We were saddened to hear of the death this month of Sue Maynard Campbell OBE, disability activist and writer, who was a long-time friend of the Centre and will be much missed.

April 2008

Members of the CHANGE organisation and research fellow Ruth Garbutt (Sociology and Social Policy) gave a presentation on their research Talking about sex and relationships: the views of young people.

Welcome to Naoko Iwata (Okinawa International University, Japan) who joins the Centre as a visiting international research fellow for 12 months.

Visitors to the Centre this month included the annual two-week study visit by staff and students from Halmstad University (Sweden).

March 2008

Work has begin on a new research project for the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) to review policy, levels of support for disabled students in the higher education sector, and how these vary across institutions.

Congratulations to Bogcheon Choi, who succesfully defended his PhD thesis.

Armineh Soorenian, who was appointed as Equal Opportunities Officer to the National Postgraduate Committee of the United Kingdom.

February 2008

Colin Barnes (Sociology and Social Policy) participated in the Oxford Union debate on vulnerable people.

Clare Barker and Suzanne Ibbotson (School of English) organised a postgradute student conference on 'Cultural Locations of Disability: Situating a Cultural Disability Studies', in association with the Cultural Disability Studies Research Network.

There were two guest seminars this month - Suzie Miles (University of Manchester) on 'Inclusive Education in a Majority World Context: The Challenge of Education for All’, and Alan Roulstone (De Montford University) on ‘Disability, Homo Humanus and the Politics of Uniformity.

Welcome to Jeong Ki Kam, Kyungham University (South Korea) who joins the Centre as a visitor for 12 months. Visitors also included Akiko Tajima (Ritsumeikan University, Japan)

January 2008

The Centre for Disability Studies will povide academic leadership for the European Commission's new 'Academic Network of European Disability experts' (ANED), co-ordinated by Human European Consultancy and with research partners in more than 30 countries.

We are pleased to announce the award of a new EU Framework 7 research project, European Research Agendas for Disability Equality (EuRADE), in association with the European Disability Forum and the University of Maastricht (Netherlands).

David Hevey (filmaker and author of The Creatures Time Forgot) presented this month's guest seminar ‘Rethinking Disability Representation’, including screening of his short film 'In the Shadow of Merrick'.

December 2007

Congratulations to those of our students who graduated in this month's degree ceremonies.

British Academy Visiting Research Fellow, Dr Richard Sahlin (University of Stockholm, Sweden) presented a seminar on ‘Identifying and Accommodating Learning Disabled Students and Employees: A Comparative Analysis’.

Professor Peter Beresford (Director of the Centre for Citizen Participation, Brunel University) presented this month's guest seminar entitled 'Violence and Psychiatry: Rethinking relationships'.

November 2007

Recent MA graduate Jeeja Ghosh (India) was awarded the Late Shri N. D. Diwan Memorial Award by the National Society for Equal Opportunities for the Handicapped India in recognition of 'Outstanding Professional Services in the Rehabilitation of Persons with Disabilities'.

Frances Hasler (Head of User and Public Involvement, Commission for Social Care Inspection) presented this month's guest seminar entitled ‘The Power of Involvement’.

Welcome to Ana Laura Aeillo who joins the Centre to begin her doctoral research on the effectiveness of human rights litigation strategies in Europe (based in the School of Law).

Visitors to the Centre included Yukiko Katsumata (National Institute of Population and Social Security Research, Japan) and an academic delegation from the University of Hamburg (Germany).

October 2007

Welcome to Dr Richard Sahlin (Stockholm University, Sweden) who joins the Centre for 11 weeks as a British Academy Visiting Fellow, to conduct comparative research on reasonable adjustment in anti-discrimination legislation. Welcome also to Naoko Taira (Seinan Gakuin University, Japan) and Miwako Tanaka (University of Tsukuba, Japan) who join the Centre for the next 12 months as visiting international research fellows.

Anna Lawson travelled to Iceland as a panel chair and rapporteur for the Human Rights and Persons with Disabilities conference.

Professor Carol Thomas (University of Lancaster, Institute for Health Research) was the guest speaker for this month's CDS seminar, based on her new book 'Sociologies of Disability and Illness'

September 2007

The Centre hosted a meeting of academics and activists from Sweden, Norway, Germany, France, Malta, Spain, Hungary and Belgium to exchange information on disability research in European countries and to discuss plans for European research collaboration.

Angharad Beckett, Nick Ellison and Sam Barrett began work on a new ESRC funded research project on Disability Equality in English Primary Schools.

Welcome to all of our new students registering this month and good luck with your studies. There are currently 41 students registered on seven taught postgraduate programmes in disability studies. Welcome also to Ana Periera (University of Coimbra, Portugal) who joins the Centre for the next month as a visiting international research fellow.