LAE Presents at the 41st Annual Conference of the Canadian Association of Information Science (CAIS-ASCI) at the University of Victoria, British Columbia

The website heading for the CAIS – ASCI conference, where the Living Archives Project presented.

On June 6th, 2013, the Living Archives presented the paper “Living Archives on Eugenics in Western Canada: Oral History & Technology as Public and Academic Resources.”  This presentation was given at the 41st annual conference of the Canadian Association of Information Science (CAIS-ASCI), at the University of Victoria in British Columbia, as part of Congress 2013 for the Humanities and Social Sciences.  The purpose of CAIS is to promote the advancement of information science in Canada, including the exchange of information relating to use, access, retrieval, organization, management, and dissemination of information.  Members include information professionals such as archivists, librarians, compter scientists, psychologists, etc.

The theme for CAIS 2013 was “Tales from the Edge: Narrative Voices in Information Research and Practice,” and showcased leading edge research and practice revolving around narrative.  The Living Archives Project deals strongly with methods of narrative, as the project involves capturing not only archival documents related to eugenics and its history in Western Canada, but the oral history of eugenics in Western Canada as well.  Further, LAE seeks to bring the narrative of eugenics in Western Canada to the public and academic researchers alike, through initiatives such as the development of high school modules, and an interactive, multimedia website, which showcases these materials in new, accessible, and innovative ways.

Led by Moyra Lang, Project Co-ordinator, the talk covered a brief history of eugenics in Western Canada, some information about the formation of the project, and an overview of the research methods used in producing the project deliverables, described above.  These methods include an interactive and phenomenological framework, with auto-ethnographical approaches, in the creation of oral history video interviews (which are edited by interviewees themselves); and grounded theory in the use of “memo-ing,” a process of recording thoughts and ideas immediately after conducting an interview, in order to help improve the process.  Special attention was give to efforts on the part of the project to provide a safe environment for these oral interviews to take place, and of the development of accessible materials (both digitally and physically through physical spaces used for events).  The talk was co-developed with technical team research assistant, Colette Leung.

For a full list of conference proceedings, including a short abstract, see the CAIS Programme here.

Call for Papers for a Special Issue of the Peace Studies Journal Theme: “Disability Studies and Ability Studies: Two Lenses to Investigate Peace

Call for Papers for a Special Issue of the Peace Studies Journal
www.peacestudiesjournal.org

Theme: “Disability Studies and Ability Studies: Two Lenses to Investigate Peace

 

Guest Editor:

Gregor Wolbring, Community Rehabilitation and Disability Studies,

Dept. of Community Health Sciences, University of Calgary

 

The Peace Studies Journal is an international interdisciplinary free online peer-reviewed scholarly journal.

 

Disability Studies is an interdisciplinary/multidisciplinary academic discipline that investigates the situation disabled people face [1] involving activists, teachers, artists, practitioners, and researchers [1]. Ability studies is linked to disability studies in the sense that disability studies covers people who are impacted by body related (physical, mental…) ability expectations and that the term ableism (the cultural dynamic that one perceives certain abilities as essential) was coined by disabled people to highlight the negative situation disabled people experience because they are labeled as not having the required ability expectations. However ability studies goes beyond body related ability expectations. Ability Studies investigates in general how ability expectation (want stage) and ableism (need stage) hierarchies and preferences come to pass and the impact of such hierarchies and preferences [2-3]. Ability Studies investigates: (a) the social, cultural, legal, political, ethical and other considerations by which any given ability may be judged, which leads to favoring one ability over another; (b) the impact and consequence of favoring certain abilities and rejecting others; (c) the consequences of ableism in its different forms, and its relationship with and impact on other isms [2-3].Peace is an ever evolving concept whose relation to disabled people and to ability expectations is so far under-investigated. We accept any peace related topic as long as it engages with it through an ability studies lens or disability studies lens or both.

We invite potential contributors (scholars, activists, and community leaders to submit

articles of 3000-5000 words (excluding figures and tables) of original research and scholarship (empirical, theoretical and conceptual)that engage with the concept of peace through the disability studies lens, the ability studies lens or both.

Please submit full article to the Guest Editor via e-mail at:
gwolbrin[at]ucalgary.ca by 15 July, 2013

Every submitted article will be subject to anonymous peer review and recommendations arising.

As to possible areas linked to the theme the below is a sample list of possible topics”

 

 

Concept of Peace;

Peace between human and nonhuman animals;

Peace between humans and the environment;

Peace and eco-ability;

Peace and eco-ableism;

Peace and disabled people;

Peace and ability expectations;

Peace and active citizenship;

Peace and law

Peace and community;

Future of Peace

Peace and activism and social movements

Peace and science and technology;

Peace and human enhancement;

Peace and subjective well-being;

Peace and body image;

Peace and Disablism;

Peace and medical and social health policies

Peace and elderly people, youthism and ageism

The ethics of Peace;

Peace and resolution of ability expectation conflicts

Peace and transformative ability expectations;

Peace and social change discourses

Peace and ability privilege

Peace and resilience

Peace and adaptation

Peace and transformative justice

Peace and energy insecurity

Peace and climate change insecurity

Peace and water and sanitation insecurity

Peace and human insecurity

Peace within families

Transformative peace

Peace and sport

 

 

Reference List

1.                    Society for Disability Studies. Guidelines for disability studies programs Society for disability studies [Online], 2012.
http://disstudies.org/guidelines-for-disability-studies-programs/
.

2.                    Wolbring, G., Why NBIC?  Why Human Performance Enhancement? Innovation; The European Journal of Social Science Research 2008, 21 (1), 25-40.

3.                    Wolbring, G., Expanding Ableism: Taking down the Ghettoization of Impact of Disability Studies Scholars. Societies 2012, 2 (3), 75-83.

 

 

 

 

Cheers Gregor

 

Dr. Gregor Wolbring

Associate Professor Community Rehabilitation and Disability Studies

Dept. of Community Health Sciences

TRW Building, 3d31

3330 Hospital Drive NW

T2N4N1

Faculty of Medicine

University of Calgary

Calgary, Canada

Email: gwolbrin[at]ucalgary.ca

Phone: 1-403-210-7083

 

Virtual peer reviewed no cost conference from students for students

Deadline for Abstract submission July 15

1^st Annual INSPIRe Virtual Symposium September 22^nd, 2012

International Network of Student Perspectives In Research

Illuminating the world through student research, networking and discussion

“Exploring ability expectations through diverse disciplines and topics”

http://ableism.wordpress.com/conference/

Haraway and the (Im)possibility of Cyborg Eugenics – Presentation by Joshua St. Pierre

Last week, on March 23, 2012, Joshua St. Pierre, one of the summer interns from the Living Archives Project who is currently working on his MA in Philosophy at the University of Alberta, gave a presentation entitled, “Haraway and the (Im)possibility of Cyborg Eugenics.”

His abstract from the conference is as follows:

While the discourse of so-called “new eugenics” is becoming increasingly popular in cyberculture, I argue that new eugenics is discussed as a mere technological overlay of pre-existing eugenic ideologies, ideologies undercut by “A Cyborg Manifesto.” Donna Haraway’s cyborg resists the natural and essential properties (racial, class or genetic purity, normalized categories such as “feeble mindedness,” or binaries like primitive/civilized) which made twentieth century eugenic programs, and by extension new eugenics, possible. However, Haraway’s politically and eugenically resilient cyborg opens the possibility for a “cyborg eugenics” proper.

Instead of essential properties, Haraway argues that human diversity and biotic components must be conceived of in terms of “design, boundary constraints, rates of flow, systems logics, costs of lowering constraints” (162). Thus, the Harawaian cyborg translates the modern concepts of ‘eugenics’ and ‘perfection’ to the concepts of ‘population control’ and ‘optimization’ (161).  While the terms ‘optimal’ and ‘population control’ lack the totalizing ideological overtones of a “master race” or the “feeble minded,” such categories force the choice of what sorts of people there should be, fragmented or not, and therefore what sorts of people there should not be.

Paralleling Hannah Arendt’s account of the banal holocaust logistician Adolf Eichmann, I argue that cyborg eugenics arise indirectly from the non-reflective fixation of the cyborg on optimizing technical problems. The Harawaian cyborg thus resists forms of eugenics rooted in claims of nature, telos or purity, but is seemingly unaware of the dark eugenic possibilities latent in the language of instrumentalization and optimization.

 It was a very interesting presentation, that provided a lot to think about in terms of the role of eugenics as modern technology evolves and becomes incorporated in the human, and the role of eugenics in posthuman literature.

Call for submissions to a special issue of Disability Studies Quarterly (DSQ)

Improving Feminist Philosophy and Theory by Taking Account of Disability
Guest editor: Shelley Tremain, PhD

Submissions should be no more than 8,000 words in length, inclusive of notes and bibliography, and should be prepared for anonymous peer review, with no identifying elements in the text or reference material, and accompanied by an abstract of 200 words.  Submissions and all inquiries about the issue should be sent to Shelley Tremain at: s.tremain@yahoo.ca with the subject line “DSQ  FEMDIS”.

DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSIONS: September 1, 2012.
NOTIFICATION OF ACCEPTANCES: on or before November 30, 2012.
DATE OF PUBLICATION: Projected for late 2013.

A growing body of literature demonstrates that disabled people confront poverty, discrimination in employment and housing, sexual violence, limited educational opportunities, incarceration, and social isolation to a far greater extent than their non-disabled counterparts and furthermore that disabled women experience the impact of these disabling social and political phenomena even more severely than do disabled men.  Although feminism is purported to be a social, political, and cultural movement that represents all women, disabled feminists have long argued that the concerns, political struggles, and socio-cultural issues that directly affect disabled women (and disabled people more generally) remain marginalized, and often ignored, within mainstream feminist movements.

Feminist theorists and researchers in the university produce and reproduce this marginalization and exclusion through a variety of mechanisms, one of which is

Perilous Relations: Bioaesthetics and Eugenics

Some might be interested in a conference session being held in Sydney, Australia this year titled Perlous Relations: Bioaesthetics and Eugenics. The session, which takes place July 12-14, will be part of the Together<>Apart conference—a conference which focuses “on the very broad idea of relations and relationships as well as allied terms such as collaborations, networks and partnerships.”

More about the conference can be found here.

And the abstract for the Perilous Relations session can be found after the break. 

Disability, Sport, and Ableism Conference

For anyone interested, there will be a series of talks on the topic of disability and sport in various locations on the University of Alberta campus on Tuesday (February 14) and Wednesday (February 15) as part of the Disability, Sport, and Ableism Conference.  Here is a quick run-down of talk titles, locations, and times:

1. From Pistorius to Para-Olympism: Contentious Paralympic Issues

(Panelists listed below)

Feb 14, 12:30 to 2 pm, PE E-120

 

2. What Can One Do With Ableism?

Lecture: Dr. Gregor Wolbring

Feb 15, 3 to 4:30 pm, ETLC ELO18 Followed by social at Leva Cafe

 

3. Albeism, Obsolescence & Body Technology

Seminar with Dr. Gregor Wolbring

Feb 15, 11am, Tory 14-28 (rsvp peers@ualberta.ca)

 

Featured Panelists & Speakers:

David Greig MHK, ChPC is a National Talent Development Coach for Para-Athletics, Athletics Canada.

Dr. P. David Howe is a former Paralympian, a coach, a journalist and a sport anthropologist who studies social theories of embodiment.

Jean Laroche, ChPC is the Lead Coach for Para- Athletics at the Sherbrooke (QC) High Performance Centre.

Danielle Peers, M.A. (U of A) is a former Paralympian, a coach, a Ph.D student and a Trudeau Scholar who studies disability, sport & human rights.

Dr. Gregor Wolbring (U of C) is an Assistant Professor in Community Rehabilitation and Disability Studies, who studies ethics and governance of science and technology with a focus on issues faced by disabled people.

Our Post-Human Futures Conference

Living Archives team member, Gregor Wolbring, will be speaking on the body and prosthetics at the “Frontiers in Research: Our Post-Human Futures” conference at the University of Ottawa on November 15, 2011.

The University of Ottawa is pleased to present the thirteenth annual Frontiers in Research lectures. This year’s theme is Our Post-Human Future .

During the past decade, human perfection and even immortality have become topics of renewed interest due to groundbreaking scientific advancements, and are now much more tangible and potentially achievable goals. The quest for human improvement through biomedical means appears to be unstoppable in the developed world. But this drive towards the “post-human” has also given rise to discussion, debate, conflict and a great deal of research on where to take the human species.

Frontiers in Research: Our Post-Human Future will explore these questions in light of developments in the fields of genetics, neuroscience and prosthetics, and their social, political, economic, ethical and religious implications.

For more information on the conference, click here.

CFP: “Breeding the Nation: Eugenics, Culture, and Science in the United States, 1900-1940”

Call for Papers

“Breeding the Nation: Eugenics, Culture, and Science in the United States, 1900-1940”

Workshop 13 of the 2012 Biennial EAAS Conference
The Health of the Nation
26–29 March, Izmir, Turkey

for more information about the conference, see the EAAS site at

http://www.eaas.eu/conferences/eaas-biennial-conferences/information-izmir-2012

Chair Bob Rydell, Montana State University rwrydell@gmail.com, and Jaap Verheul, Utrecht University j.verheul@uu.nl.

History of Medicine Days: March 11 and 12 at the University of Calgary

The 20th Annual History of Medicine Days Conference takes place on the 11th and 12th of March at the University of Calgary.

The History of Medicine Days is an annual two-day Nation-wide conference held at the University of Calgary in which undergraduate and early graduate students from across Canada give 10-12 minute presentations on the history of medicine and health care. The topics generally tend to include areas from Classics, the History of Public Health, Nursing, Veterinary Medicine, Human Biology, Neuroscience, etc. Prizes are awarded and there are associated receptions and an awards banquet.

Seattle Children’s bioethics conference will discuss prioritizing care to children “based on social, physical or mental status”

The Seattle Children’s Hospital will hold the seventh annual pediatric bioethics conference in July. This year’s theme is “Who’s Responsible for the Children? Exploring the Boundaries of Clinical Ethics and Public Policy.” On the conference page of the hospital web site, they lay out some of the issues that will be discussed. One of them goes, “Should care to children be prioritized based on social, physical or mental health status?” and there are some examples of children such as:

Children who have expensive technology-intensive care needs, such as ventilators, dialysis or transplants?

Children with intellectual disabilities who require special resources, yet will remain dependant on society?

Children who have mental healthcare needs?

American Society for Bioethics and Humanities: Call for Proposals

American Society for Bioethics and Humanities
Call for Proposals
ASBH 13th Annual Meeting
October 13-16, 2011
Minneapolis, MN
The American Society for Bioethics and Humanities‘ 13th Annual Meeting is scheduled for
October 13-16, 2011, in Minneapolis, MN at the Hyatt Regency Minneapolis. Sleeping rooms at
the Hyatt can be secured at the ASBH group rate of $199 beginning in August. Reservations will
be taken on a first-come, first-served basis.

History of Biology Seminar and Informatics Workshop

 

2011 MBL-ASU History of Biology Seminar:

History of Cell BiologyMay 15 -21, 2011 in Woods Hole, MA

 

The MBL-ASU History of Biology Seminar is an intensive week for graduate students, postdoctoral associates, younger scholars, and established researchers in the life sciences, history, philosophy, and the social sciences.

Report on the Inaugural Conference for Living Archives on Eugenics in Western Canada

On October 22 and 23, the Living Archives project held its first public event since being awarded Community University Research Alliance (CURA) funding earlier in 2010.  For those who weren’t able to attend, and for those who were but who want a reminder, below is a report on the conference proceedings.

Friday morning began with a team meeting.  It was announced that seven people would be joining the team.  The team now includes 31 scholars, advocates, and community members working throughout Canada and internationally. Later in the meeting, team member, Frank Stahnisch, described a workshop on the history of eugenics and brain psychiatry that is to be held in Banff on June 21, 2011.  More information will be sent out as we approach June.  Finally, the team received a presentation from Colette Leung, a research assistant in the Program in Humanities Computing at Alberta, on the five-year strategy for building the Living Archives website.  Work has already begun on the website, and we expect it eventually to become a very valuable resource for information and research on the history of eugenics.  The next team meeting and public event has been scheduled for May 5 – 7 in Edmonton.  Details to come soon.

Huntington Society of Canada Conference 2010

I know this is a bit short notice, but the Huntington’s Society of Canada is hosting their annual conference in Edmonton. Starting today (Thursday) at 7:30 pm at the Sutton Place Hotel, the conference will attempt to highlight both the current research around Huntington disease and the lived experience of those with Huntington.

CBC News – Edmonton – Alberta’s sex sterilizations re-examined

from CBC Edmonton, last night, with stacks of comments already.

CBC News – Edmonton – Alberta’s sex sterilizations re-examined.

‘Newgenics’ still rampant in Alberta, conference told

Front page, Edmonton Journal, by Andrea Sands:

 

‘Newgenics’ still rampant in Alberta, conference told.

Living Archives: Inaugural Events

The 5-year project, Living Archives on Eugenics in Western Canada will launch its public face with some inaugural events in Edmonton at the end of this week.  All events are free and open to the public, and we welcome community and university members, individuals and organizations.

We start on Friday 22nd October, 2010, with a keynote address by Professor Douglas Wahlsten at the Telus Centre on the campus of the University of Alberta, at 7pm, entitled “Eugenics in Alberta: Science and Politics”.  The talk is in Room 150, doors open at 6:30 and a reception will follow.

Events on Saturday October 23, 2010 take place on the lower floor of the Stanley Milner Library located opposite Churchill Square in Edmonton.  We will be downstairs in the Edmonton Room, with coffee and snacks available at 9.45am and the first session starting at 10.00am.  Members of the public are also welcome to attend a short meeting of the governing board, which will begin at 9.00am in the same location.  The Saturday events include:

• Dick Sobsey & Heidi Janz “Picturing Eugenics: Telling the Story of Eugenics Through Alternative Communication”
• Erika Dyck, “Building a People’s History of Eugenics: Archives Past and Present”
• Gregor Wolbring, “Dynamics Around Eugenic Acceptance and Rejection: Lesson for the Future”
• Claudia Malacrida, “Creating an Oral History of Eugenics Questions of Scope, Ethics and Access”

To register for the free lunch or request disability accommodations, please contact moyra@ualberta.ca or register directly at
http://www.whatsorts.net/register/
.  You can also get updated information at
http://www.whatsorts.net

Call for abstracts reminder Canadian Disability Studies Association Conference

Hi everybody,

the deadline for submission that guarantees notice of decision before Christmas has passed. However you can still submit abstracts for the conference till Dec 15th.

I want again to highlight the virtual option people can chose
for the first time meaning that their paper will be debated on a
discussion forum after the live conference.

I think this is a good option for people who know they won’t have
money for travel. It opens up the door for example for undergraduates
and graduates that have something to show to submit papers even if
they know they can not obtain travel funds.  It looks good for the
students to have conferences on their CV.

I look forward  to many more submissions. All the documents for submitting the abstract can be found at  
http://www.cdsa-acei.ca/conference.html
 

Cheers
Gregor

Gregor Wolbring
President CDSA-ACEI
University of Calgary

============================
Canadian Disability Studies Association / Association Canadienne des
Études sur l’Incapacité (CDSA-ACEI)

Web-site / site-Web:
http://www.cdsa-acei.ca

Email:cdsa.acei@gmail.com

Join us at our 8th Annual Conference on June 1, 2, and 3, 2011, in
Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada!
Joignez-nous à notre 8ème conférence annuelle le 1 Juin, 2 et 3, 2011,
à Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada!

Call for Book Chapters from Young People with Disabilities: Disability in America: Voices of a New Generation

Call for Proposals: Disability in America: Voices of a New Generation

Ari Ne’eman and Stacey Milbern, Co-Editors

Deadline: January 15, 2011

This year, the disability community is celebrating the 20th anniversary of the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), civil rights law that protects the rights of disabled people. Growing up in a post-ADA America has meant that many of us have had access to more opportunities than previous generations. We know if we had been born in 1967 instead of 1987 our lives would look completely different. We know the history of our people is tainted by eugenics, ableism, lack of access and the sting of low expectations. We recognize the work that has been done by disability movements over the last century to make the current lives we live possible. We are proud to be members of this vibrant, breathing, community.

Although the struggle continues, we recognize that the realities of disabled people look vastly different in many ways. With this in mind, we are requesting proposals for chapters in a book-length anthology to document this legacy and record the stories of disabled young people talking about what it is to grow up with a disability in this day and age.

Part One of our anthology will attempt to explore how a new generation experiences these age old challenges, affording a chance to assess how far we have really come. Part Two of our anthology asks disabled young people to identify what our struggle looks like now.

We’re seeking a diversity of perspectives and topics. A few questions we pose as food for thought: