Non-visible Disabilities

Chronic Illness as Disability: The Experiences of Post-Secondary Students and Recent Graduates Living with Chronic Illness

What can personal experiences of illness teach us about the socio-cultural and political context in which we currently live? What can a critical understanding of chronic illness as disability teach us about living with bodies that are not stereotypically “able�? Carolina will address these concerns in her presentation which draws upon semi-structured interviews conducted for her doctoral research in socio-cultural anthropology at McGill University, describing the experiences of post-secondary students and recent post-secondary graduates living with chronic illness in Montreal. The themes of identity, inter-personal relationships, education, and employment will be discussed in relation to the everyday experiences of four young people living with the challenges posed by unpredictable, non-visible diseases like severe chronic clinical depression and generalized anxiety disorder, esophageal cancer, Crohn’s disease, and systemic lupus erythematosus.

Speakers | Carolina Pineda |

The internet, illness and identity: an exploration of the ways in which those who are chronically are using the internet

Access to the internet is changing the experience of being chronically ill. The internet can be used to moderate the experience of being ill that the experience itself is changed and thus those who rely heavily on internet resources and access to cope with their illnesses may experience those illnesses very differently from those who do not employ web-based coping methods. Kara’s presentation draws from personal experiences and analyses of online forums, blogs and search tools and examines the ways in which the chronically ill are using the internet to confront feelings of isolation and powerlessness and to reshape their identities. Understanding how new technologies are used to seek knowledge, subvert medical authority, and create a social space in which illness can be openly discussed and illness identities freely formed and contested can inform our understanding of how the experience of being chronically ill is changing for upcoming generations.

Speakers | Kara Quennell |

Madness Studies: Understanding Madness and Mental Health as Part of Disability Studies

’Madness studies’ describes an area of study that engages critically with dominant understandings of ‘mental health’ in terms of the impact on the lives of individuals who are deemed ‘mentally ill.’ Merrick will discuss madness studies and how Merrick research fits into the wider field of disability studies. Results will be presented from interviews conducted with those who self-identify or who have been deemed by others as mad or mentally ill and who also identify as queer and/or trans. The presentation will explore how issues of gender identity, sexuality, race, class, and dis/ability intersect with a self-understanding and/or diagnosis of madness or mental illness. Main themes that emerged from the interview data collected during the research include participants’ experiences of employment. This will include a brief discussion of the ways in which dominant understandings of those who are deemed ‘mentally ill’ affect work environments, access to jobs, and being ‘out’ at work.

Speakers | Merrick Pilling |

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