Ableism in Academia
Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, Lunch and Learn event: Ableism in Academia.
To celebrate Disability History Month, the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences organised a Lunch and Learn event: ‘Ableism in Academia’. The idea was to explain what ableism is and also to present opinions of students, and staff about their experience at the university. As for someone who does not have much knowledge about this issue, it was really great to have the opportunity to join this talk and reflect. The Chair, Professor Kirsti Bohata, started with a quick introduction of the guest speakers.
The first was Professor David Turner who explained what ableism is. He presented a few meanings:
● Discrimination in favour of non-disabled people
● Regulates what is ‘normal’ or ‘abnormal’
● Ideas about perfect, idealised body and mind, and discrimination of anyone who is not able to live up to this standard.
Ableism had appeared in the Enlightenment. In that era, people were idealising human bodies. On the other hand, capitalism had standardised productivity norms that valorised workers who meet the ‘ideal body’ requirements.
Today, at the university, but also in everyday life, disability is seen as an obstacle to participate in any activities. This is unacceptable and as Professor Turner said, there is no quick solution. There should be a better support network for students and staff and visible leadership. Moreover, awareness about this issue should be raised, in both education and training.
The remaining guest speakers - Susannah Field, Chloe Morgan and Felicity McKee, talked about their experiences at University. They have raised a few matters that should not exist in the 21st century! Chloe Morgan presented how Covid-19 pandemic changed her life and presented a statement that disabilities are still misunderstood. Disabled people have to overcome many obstacles which others do not even think of. Felicity McKee talked about how it is expected from disabled people to be grateful for the bare minimum or even less. Her other issue was that disabled students face problems, such as finding accessible accommodation or facing the misconceptions about them. Panellists and participants had shared their opinions and experiences which were really touching and helped me understand the problem even more.
We should put pressure on the universities, city councils, governments and those who have power to start noticing that many people are discriminated against by their actions and decisions. We should educate ourselves, stand up for those who are discriminated against and loudly protest ableism at universities and in everyday life.
Teresa Zawieja