Leiden Disability Studies Lunch
On 13 June the first Leiden Disability Studies Lunch was organized upon the initiative of the ERC Rethinking Disability team, based in the Institute for History. Its aim was to allow students and staff members from across various institutes of the Faculty of Humanites and also from other faculties to connect, exchange ideas and make plans for the future.
After a round of introductions, Dr. Alice Schrippers, Director of the Disability Studies in the Nederlands Foundation gave a talk in which she outlined the potentials of a humanities-based approach to disability. This was followed by a lively discussion. Participants agreed to set up a reading group which will convene at regular intervals, while other joint events are also currently being planned. The expectation is that these activities will increase the visibility of disability-related research at the Faculty and beyond and also that they will connect colleagues who have so far worked in isolation. It is hoped that these exchanges will highlight the great societal relevance of humanities-based studies of disability.
Interested colleagues and students, with or without previous experience in the field, are very welcome to join the initiative. Please send an email to rethinkingdisability@hum.leidenuniv.nl if you would like to join the mailing list and become informed about future events. Suggestions for literature to be discussed during the sessions of the reading group are also welcome.