It was our privilege to support the launch of the widely anticipated book ‘Ableism is Academia: Theorising experiences of disabilities and chronic illness in higher education’.

Ableism in Academia, edited by Nicole Brown and Jennifer Leigh and published by UCL Press on 5 October, provides an interdisciplinary outlook on the experience of ableism of academia.

In this online event delegates discussed the importance of Equality Diversity and Inclusion for staff and students in Higher Education, shared perspectives on policy and practices that relate to disabilities and chronic illnesses within the context of neoliberal academia, and highlighted these as areas that need and warrant strategic attention.

The discussants were:

• Dr. Neil Harrison, Deputy Director of the Rees Centre, Senior Researcher and Associate Professor at the University of Oxford
• Dr. Amanda Bates, Co-Chair of the University of Kent’s Disability Staff Network
• the editors, Dr. Nicole Brown from UCL Institute of Education and Dr. Jennifer Leigh from the University of Kent
• Dr. El Spaeth from the University of Glasgow who is one of the contributors to the book.
• Professor Fiona Kumari Campbell, Professor of Disability and Ableism Studies, University of Dundee.

Event resources

• Marginalisation and ableism for staff in higher education slides by Dr. Neil Harrison.
• Ableism in academia slides by Dr. Nicole Brown.
• Ableism in academia talk by Professor Fiona Kumari Campbell.

About the book

Rather than embracing difference as a reflection of wider society, academic ecosystems seek to normalise and homogenise ways of working and or being a researchers.  As a consequence, ableism in academic is endemic.  However, to date no attempt has been made to theorise experiences of ableism in academia.  Ableism in Academic provides an interdisciplinary outlook on ableism that is currently missing. Through reporting research data and exploring personal experiences, the contributors theorise and conceptualise what it means to be/work outside the stereotypical norm.  The volume brings together a range of perspectives, including feminism, post-structuralism, crip theory and disability theory, to interrogate aspects of identity, aspects of how disability is performed, and to argue that ableism is not just a disability issue.

Download a free Open Access copy of the book online.

Print copies of the book are also available to buy in hardback and paperback.  Purchase by 30 April 2021 to save 20% using the following codes:

• For customers in the United Kingdom use code UCL20MC347 at UCL Press.
• For customers in North American use code AIA20 at University of Chicago Press.

Schedule of Ableism Events

To register for one of the events, or to watch the recording, click on the relevant link for each event:

• 5^th November 2020:
  • Centre for Global Higher Education: Seminar 165: Ableism in Academia: Theorising Experiences of Disabilities and Chronic Illnesses in Higher Education – Book Symposium with Professor Gregor Wolbring, Dr. Nicole Brown, Dr. Kirstein Rummery and Dr. Jennifer Leigh discussing ableism and disabilities.
• 25^th November 2020:
  • University of Birmingham: Disability Post-Lockdown: What’s changed? with Dr. Nicole Brown discussing experiences before and after Covid19 Lockdown.
• 1^st December 2020:
  • UCL Institute of Advanced Studies: IAS Book Launch – Ableism in Academia with Professor Dolmage, Dr. Nicole Brown, Dr. Jennifer Leigh and Dr. Francesca Peruzzo discussing ableism and barriers to entry.
• 3^rd December 2020:
  • University of Kent: Ableism in Academia – book launch with Prof Georgina Randsley de Moura, Dr. Neil Harrison, Dr. Nicole Brown, Dr. Jennifer Leigh, Dr. Amanda Bates and Dr. El Spaeth discussing policy and practice and the lived experience of ableism.
• 8^th December 2020:
  • King’s College London: Ableism in Academia with Dr. John Darker, Dr. Nicole Brown, Dr. Carla Finesilver and Dr. Jennifer Leigh discussing invisible disabilities and interdisciplinary approaches to ableism.
• 11^th December 2020:
  • Society for Research into Higher Education: Ableism in Academia with Professor Dilly Fung, Dr. Nicole Brown,  Elisabeth Griffiths, Dr. Jennifer Leigh and Dr. El Spaeth discussing equality, diversity and inclusion in higher education.
• 18^th January 2021:
  • Johannes Kepler Universität Linz, Kunstakademie Linz and DISTA (Disability Network Austria): Diversität im Hochschulkontext with Dr. Nicole Brown discussing disabilities and careers in academia. This event will be held in German, and the link will follow.
• 25^th February 2021:
  • Technische Universität Wien and Universität Wien: Diversität im Hochschulkontext with Dr. Nicole Brown discussing equality, diversity and inclusion in higher education. This event will be held in German, and the link will follow.