Scholarship Disabled: Crip research, crip scholars

Scholarship Disabled: Crip research, crip scholars

Panel:

A/Prof Peta Cook (University of Tasmania)

Dr Elizabeth Humphrys (University of Technology, Sydney)

Adjunct Prof. Nicole Asquith (Queensland University of Technology)

In 2019, several disabled (and a few non-disabled) academics—predominately in Australia—came together to create the Scholarship Disabled research team. Frustrated by witnessing and experiencing ableism and disablism, we decided to investigate the workplace experiences of other disabled staff in Australian higher education. Our resultant publications (Humphrys et al. 2022; Rodgers et al. 2023) revealed the omnipresence of ableism in higher education, embedded in structures, policies, and procedures that privilege (and reward) non-disabled bodyminds. This is seen in the valourisation of the ‘ideal worker’, those who are always available for and prioritise work (and do so for long hours) and are highly ‘productive’. This further reflects how normative (clock) time is organised, which marginalises crip temporalities (‘crip time’). Yet such organisation and the consequent lived experiences of disabled staff, are at odds with many university value statements of inclusion and equity.

In this presentation, some core members of the Scholarship Disabled team will share the results of our research, interweaved with our own experiences of ableism and disablism in higher education. We will conclude the session with our reflections on the future, both for our crip research and for ourselves as crip scholars. Our discussion is designed to increase awareness but also provoke conversations on the place(lessness) of crip scholars in Australian higher education.

Associate Professor Peta S. Cook is an Associate Professor of Sociology at the University of Tasmania, Australia. Her research primarily focuses on ageing, disability, medical science, and chronic illness. Peta’s research is particularly motivated by advocating for social justice, equity, and inclusion. She is a disabled academic. For her applied, community-based research, Peta has received awards including the 2020 Sociology in Action Award (from the Australian Sociological Association) and the 2018 Vice Chancellor’s Award for Outstanding Community Engagement (University of Tasmania).

Dr Elizabeth Humphrys is a political economist in the Climate, Society and Environment Research Centre (C-SERC) at the University of Technology Sydney. Her research investigates the impact of economic crisis and climate change on labour, with particular focus on neoliberalism, health and safety at work, and control over the labour process. Elizabeth is a disabled academic, bringing personal experience together with her expertise on labour issues in the Scholarship Disabled project. She is an Associate at the Centre for Future Work at the independent think tank The Australia Institute.

Professor Nicole L. Asquith is an Adjunct Professor at the Queensland University of Technology, Australia. Her primary research focus is on hate crime and violence against marginalised communities. Nicole initiated the Scholarship Disabled team in 2016 after having to traverse ableist institutional structures in higher education. She has published on cripping criminology and ableist violence, and with the Scholarship Disabled team on academic ableism, crip time and the “ideal worker”.