It’s Not Gibberish: ‘Disabled’ Voices in Literature for Young People
Prof. Chloë Hughes
Date: Wednesday 17th December 2014
Time: 2.15pm–3.45pm
Place: Eden 109, Liverpool Hope University, UK
What
overt and subtle messages in children’s and young adult literature
reinforce stereotypes or expand understandings of the social construct
known as disability? After briefly reviewing how disability has been a
means in art, literature, and history to render individuals impotent,
without identity, and ultimately voiceless, Prof. Hughes will focus on
real and fictional voices of individuals and characters with unique
communication patterns who claim and articulate their right to self
determination. Dyslexic, stuttered, “crooked,” interior, signed, and
computer-generated voices, as they appear in recently published
literature for young people, are illuminating and obscuring the
boundaries of ability and disability. How can teachers use such
literature to promote inclusion in their classrooms?
Chloë Hughes is Professor of Teacher Education at Western
Oregon University where she teaches literacy and diversity
classes. Her research focuses on literacy learning among individuals
with disabilities and on the portrayal of disability in children’s and
young adult literature. Her work has appeared in the Journal for Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities; Rethinking Schools; War, Literature and the Arts; and the Journal of Literary and Cultural Disability Studies. She also chairs the US Board on Books for Young People Outstanding Books for Young People with Disabilities committee.
This seminar is part of the CCDS series, The Voice of Disability. Other dates include:
14 Jan 2015, It Must Be Simple: The Supreme Fiction at the Core of the Backlash to Access Debate, David Feeney.
11 Feb 2015, Authorship and the voice of disability in dance, Mathilde Pavis and Kate Marsh.
11 Mar 2015, Which Theory of Democracy for an Inclusive Society? A Pragmaticist Approach, David Doat.
13 May 2015,
The Voice of the Disability Activist Movement in the US around the
ADA: A Hidden Minority or a Hidden Army, Lennard J. Davis.
17 Jun 2015, ‘Working together for positive outcomes’: The Appropriation of Voice and Participation in SEN policy, Claire Penketh.
Also, Disability and Disciplines: The International Conference on Educational, Cultural, and Disability Studies will be held 1-2 July, 2015.
For further information please contact:
Dr. David Bolt
Associate Professor, Faculty of Education
Director, Centre for Culture & Disability Studies
Editor in Chief, Journal of Literary & Cultural Disability Studies
Joint Editor, Literary Disability Studies
Email: boltd@hope.ac.uk
Telephone: 0151 291 3346
Office: HCA 012
Postal address: Faculty of Education, Liverpool Hope University, Liverpool, UK, L16 9JD.
Recent Books:
Changing Social Attitudes Toward Disability: http://www.routledge.com/
The Metanarrative of Blindness: http://www.press.umich.edu/
The Madwoman and the Blindman: https://ohiostatepress.org/