Journalist – Historian – Speaker
Last week I was pleased to see the announcement of this new rule tracking ways in which racism and ableism intersect in our school system. From the National Council on Disability press release: The National Council on Disability (NCD) – an independent federal agency – applauds the new “Equity in IDEA” rule proposed by the …
Jillian Keenan, one of my favorite writers, has a new book: Sex with Shakespeare. The blurb: When it came to understanding love, a teenage Jillian Keenan had nothing to guide her—until a production of The Tempest sent Shakespeare’s language flowing through her blood for the first time. In Sex with Shakespeare, she tells the story …
Professor Dan Kline at University of Alaska – Arkansas speaks about violence, guns on campus, and the mistake the Alaska Legislature is making. While some schools worry about issuing psychological trigger warnings about emotional material, UA professors would be worrying about actual triggers. “The presence of a gun fundamentally would change the kind of things …
This was good news: President Simon Newman of Mount St. Mary’s University resigns. More shortly. https://t.co/PvBNnGYxqe — David M. Perry (@Lollardfish) March 1, 2016 My piece on the illegality of his plan under Section 504 of the 1973 Rehabilitation act was here, for The Establishment. Welcome to the Trumpification of higher ed. There are many reasons …
I got a lot done on my book in February, but I got more done chasing big stories. Here are some: Inspiration Porn Objectives People with Disabilities (The Establishment, 2/25/16) Sexual Ableism (Los Angeles Review of Books, 2/25/16) Guns on Campus Jeopardize Education (CNN.com, 2/24/16) Mount St. Mary’s Ableist Plan to Push Our Disabled Students (The Establishment, 2/25/16) Job …
It’s a story that the disability world has been following for months, if not years. Yesterday, the Los Angeles Review of Books published my thoughts about the Anna Stubblefield case, facilitated communication, sexual ableism, and the need for more complexity about disability in our rhetorics and our courts. Please read it: I try to do a few …
I am heading to the annual meeting of the Medieval Academy to talk about disability studies. I have a peculiar relationship with the field, as my published work is in cultural history, focusing on Venice, political myths, narratives of materiality, hagiography, and the pre-modern Mediterranean world. My next book, though, will be on contemporary disability …
My friend RC alerted me to this piece on a police training simulator for learning how to reduce misuse of force when encountering autistic people or people with various mental disabilities. It touts the virtues of the virtual playback versus role-playing-based training. Through the simulator, deputies are immersed in true-to-life scenarios — exactly the kind …
Thesis: The idea that your students have guns will have a vastly more chilling effect on academic freedom than people asking for trigger warnings, less offensive language, or to be thoughtful about microaggressions. Coming soon from CNN. (Update for new readers. Hi new readers! Here are some of my writing about Trigger Warnings and PC …
I’ve been writing about trigger warnings, political correctness, and safe space issues for almost two years now (starting with this CNN piece, but extending throughout my blog, including ‘trigger warnings are your friends.’). There are at least two different strains of critique of the notion of microaggressions on campus. One is from mostly male white semi-liberals who …