I'm editing this special issue with my colleagues Damian Milton and Hanna Bertilsdotter Rosqvist.
I hope to see papers from some of you, and am looking forward to reading your submissions. Please note criteria and due dates below.
--Dr Mitzi Waltz, Athena Centre, VU Amsterdam / Disability Studies in Nederland
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Call for papers
Critical
dialogues on neurodiversity: A Special Section of Scandinavian Journal of Disability Research
Special Section editors: Damian
Milton, Mitzi Waltz & Hanna Bertilsdotter Rosqvist
We
are at a crucial point in the development of critical autism studies. Whilst
there have been a growth in publications and events on this topic, there is
also a growing divide between autistic-led and other scholarship in the area
(Milton, 2016). In addition, critical research on neurodivergent ways of being other
than autism, such as ADHD, is often situated outside of Disability Studies,
primarily within the fields of medical sociology or critical mental health.
The
vast majority of research published in the field of autism or other neurodivergent
ways of being is closely aligned with clinical practice, resulting in a focus
on establishing ways to ‘remediate the disorder.’ Whilst there may be
indications that this is changing in some quarters, and the view that a
neurodivergent way of being can involve potential cognitive strengths as well
as limitations is emerging, such views have traditionally been held on the
margins. One implication of this has been the exclusion of neurodivergent
voices in the processes of knowledge production, leading to research in the
field being epistemologically and ethically suspect (Milton and Bracher, 2013).
Whilst seeking and obtaining the views of disabled people is now often a
requirement of policy formation or legislation within and across national
boundaries, such efforts often remain tokenistic in nature, particularly in the
field of autism. Another implication is that researchers and policymakers often
fail to examine the varying personal and social conditions in which neurodivergent
people live, and the impact these have on disablement. Academic narratives
about neurodiversity and neurodivergent people and cultures often do a
disservice to the diversity of views therein, and can create further barriers
by constraining or controlling the way neurodivergent people make their own
contributions, are interpreted and are talked about.
This
special section seeks to facilitate a sharing of views across critical
perspectives within the neurodiversity field. We seek to broaden the field to
include a diverse range of neurodivergent ways of being, bridging fields and
connecting concepts and experiences, and also to make a positive change regarding
the input of neurodivergent scholarship and to further a participatory ethos.
We
welcome papers contributing to these goals. Papers are welcome to address one
or more of the following empirical and theoretical themes:
• Participatory and emancipatory
research with and by neurodivergent people – theory, method and impact on policy.
• Defining and diagnosing: Issues of
identity, diagnostic categories, and the use and impact of diagnostic
categories.
• The dynamics of knowledge production
about neurodivergent people, in particular within critical autism studies..
• The barriers and opportunities in
considering embodied situated knowledge and academic expertise, in particular
for neurodivergent people working within academia.
We welcome papers drawing on empirical work, a review of literature or theoretical arguments. We especially
encourage contributions that are based on participatory or emancipatory
research, and contributions from neurodivergent scholars. Contributions may be
in the form of original articles (up to 7000 words). (see https://www.sjdr.se/about/submissions/ for manuscript guidelines). All submissions will
undergo anonymous peer review. The
section will consists of 3-4 papers and an extended editorial introducing the
current debates in the field and situating the section in relation to those
debates.
Visit
www.sjdr.se
to login and submit your article
online.
If you have questions, please contact the Corresponding Guest Editor: Damian
Milton, [log in to unmask]
Deadline for
submissions is 31st May 2018. We
anticipate a publication date in 2019.
This Disability-Research Discussion list is managed by the Centre for Disability Studies at the University of Leeds (www.leeds.ac.uk/disability-studies).
