In our class reading Embodied Rhetorics: Disability in Language and Culture, James C. Wilson and Cynthia Lewiecki-Wilson state the following:
The walls preventing Americans with disabilities from realizing their civil rights have proved more difficult to dismantle than ones built of concrete and steel. These barriers of separation are not only physical but sociopolitical--exclusions, with a long history, codified in institutional discourses, embodied in social spaces, enacted in social practices, and deeply embedded… in global capitalist economic structures
In her lecture On Inclusivity and Mental Health: Reconsidering Space and Time in Higher Education, Margaret Price talked at length about how disability is “embodied in social spaces” and “enacted in social practice”, and how this creates barriers to accessibility.
Price began her lecture by stating that “enacting inclusion is one of the most difficult challenges that faces education at all levels”. Despite our emphasis on it, inclusion is one of many vague, “floating good” terms (like engagement, productivity, and excellence) that typically do not accomplish much. Inclusion implies that an outsider is being “welcomed”, while the space still belongs to the “welcomer”.
Before I go on, I should define a couple important terms. The first is excludable type: someone who is “[signified] as an always-absent presence”. In other words, we assume excludable types aren’t present until we are explicitly told otherwise. For example, wheelchair users are an excludable type in that we install ramps and make other efforts to include them only after they show up, but not before.
Next, kairotic space refers to any spontaneous, informal situation with a high professional or academic impact. The criteria for a kairotic space is as follows:
Events are synchronous: unfold in "real-time"
Impromptu communication is required or encouraged
Participants are tele/present, either in person or through a digital interface such as video
Involves a strong social element (social spontaneity)
Stakes are high, meaning there is a noticeable power imbalance present (between teacher/student, boss/employee, etc.)
Kairotic spaces in academia encompass everything from classroom discussions to running into your professor in an elevator; our professional reputation often hinges on these small, informal encounters, but because they are spontaneous, we cannot prepare for them in advance like we would, for example, a presentation. This is what makes them tricky. Often, disabilities must be accommodated in kairotic spaces--in real-time--but this is not how the current system of academic accommodations work. Instead, our current system places the onus on people with disabilities to anticipate their own needs ahead of time, even though these needs can be spontaneous and unpredictable.
As a solution, Price proposed the theory of crip spacetime, which focuses on “the spacial, the relational, the non-human animal, the object, and the group” rather than individuals. We can apply the theory of crip spacetime when considering what truly inclusive academic spaces look like, and how we can build them. What resources do we have for mental disability on campus, and are they easy to find for everyone? Where are our kairotic spaces, and how can we adjust them so that accommodations are not just welcome, but expected? While these questions aren’t easy to answer, they can help us to imagine what accessibility and inclusivity look like in academic spaces.
Brynn, this is such an insightful post with such thoughtful questions at the end! I think that often times, people with non-apparent disabilities are left out of these discussions, too. Dr. Price's lecture earlier this semester fit perfectly in with your post, and I really thought it was interesting when she talked about how so often, people seeking accommodations need to give Disabilities Offices specific things: "I need an extra hour of test time," or "I need to register a service animal" or something like that. Like she discussed, it can be so difficult for people sometimes, especially if they are unaware of the available accommodations. The idea of incorporating crip spacetime is really important in all of this; it's something I try to think about a lot in the residence halls especially: are we providing inclusive programming? Are we doing everything we can with our advertising to make it inclusive? Are we providing enough resources for people who may need Disability Services? It always strikes me as so interesting that Ball State is consistently voted one of the most inclusive colleges for people with disabilities. I have had a lot of residents who would disagree with that, and I would have to side with them. Just because Ball State may be doing better than other places doesn't mean that we're doing particularly well. There's always more that can be done.
ReplyDeleteThank you Mary! It's so interesting that you bring your perspective as an RA into the conversation--I think accessibility issues that students face would be so much more visible to you than to the average student. It isn't quite in the same vein, but it reminds me of how the Counseling Center was apparently relying on crowdfunding to function? We just don't allocate enough resources to helping students function on campus.
DeleteHey Brynn, I have always enjoyed your posts this semester, and this one is wonderful. We only think of students and accommodations for them once they show up. I think of my first year of RA training and how we were encouraged to use the Disability Services resources if we had a resident who was blind, deaf, or used a wheelchair. If we had a blind resident, we could use the braille printer to put braille on our bulletin boards. If you don't have a blind resident, you most likely are not going to use that service until you get one. All of the program flyers for my building state you can email someone if you need accommodations because they will not be there otherwise. My best friend who has ADHD was shocked by how many accommodations she qualified for by registering her condition with Disability Services at IUPUI. Ball State is considered the most accessible campus in Indiana, and that is sad because there are so many accessibility issues on campus that affect students' day to day lives.
ReplyDeleteThank you Claire, that's really kind of you to say! It's so important to point out that Ball State is one of the more accessible colleges out there but we still have all these issues. In Price's talk, she talked a lot about how she--as an experienced, tenure-track teacher who specialized in disability and accessibility--struggled to get access to faculty accommodations. I think it's so important not only that accommodations be available, but that they be easily visible and attainable for everyone who needs them--and they just aren't right now!
Delete