I imagine my final list as a toolkit for implementing institutional reform of higher education in a way that would respect the presence of cognitive diversity in academia. Not wishing to privilege medical definitions, I will draw extensively from the memoirs and life writing of disabled people, especially in examining the social and cultural factors that contribute to academic disability. This umbrella term will allow me to investigate instances where cognitive difference manifests as an impediment to the cultivation of normative “academic ability.” I will examine how developments in scientific knowledge about the brain have influenced the ways we teach academic literacy and think about students as learners.
My second list attempts to define a specific disability category I am calling “academic disability,” which is exemplified by such named cognitive impairments as learning disabilities, ADHD, and Autism Spectrum Disorder. Drawing upon the insights of disabled cultures and lived experiences, they uncover the hidden forces of ableism that shape contemporary society and offer models for building a future in which all human capacity may be valued equally. These scholars reject the notion that disability is a purely medical concern, arguing instead that cultural beliefs about normalcy, health, and disability have profound influences on society. It explores methodological approaches used by historians, literary critics, and cultural theorists whose work examines disability from a social and cultural perspective.
My first list provides an overview of interdisciplinary disability studies in the humanities. In addition to recovering important institutional history, I hope to conduct original research about the current state of disability administration, particularly now as CUNY and other institutions undergo massive structural changes. In my dissertation project, I intend to study the history of disability administration in the CUNY system, particularly in relation to cognitive disabilities like Learning Disabilities and ADHD.
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