Time: Noon - 2pm

Presenter 1, Name: Anna Ślebioda

Presenter 2, Name: Laura Mora

Talk 1, Title: Edith Stein`s philosophy as a new framework for disability studiesAnna Ślebioda

Talk 1, Abstract:

Edith Stein was a Jewish woman - philosopher who converted into Catholic and became a nun. However, she died in a concentration camp along with other Jewish people. This indicates her faithfulness to primary identity. -

This as well as her academic work, for instance on woman and her place in the society provide a new framework for analysing femininity in disability.

The presentation covers biographical facts as well as summary of Edith Stein`s philosophy. These elements are next linked to analyses from disability studies area so that at the end a novel analytical framework is presented.

Talk 2, Title: Audiences’ affective engagement with Paralympians’ social media content

Talk 2, Abstract:

This study explores the emancipatory potential of Paralympians’ social media presence in shaping progressive disability discourses, taking the Paralympic Games in Tokyo as its timeframe. To this end, it explores how the interaction between Paralympians and their social media followers can be understood as an “affective public” (Papacharissi 2015; Nikunen, 2018). Whereas existing studies have described the role of social media affordances in building affective publics, little is known about the role that audiences’ drive and interaction play therein. Our audience perception study aims to fill this gap by conducting focus group interviews with a diverse array of UK-based disabled people and non-disabled carers. Our findings highlight which types of Paralympic content on Instagram and Twitter is most appealing to followers, the role affect plays in engaging this audience, how their interaction with Paralympic content builds “mediated solidarity” (Couldry, 2012); and how this affective engagement is central to their demand for “cultural citizenship” (Stevenson, 1999). We also draw attention to factors that hamper solidarity, including political economy, accessibility and temporality issues. Nevertheless, our findings suggest that dis/abled audiences’ affective—and utopianist—expressions of solidarity are valuable, since this ever-growing affective public is grassroots-born and more sustainable than what existing literature suggests. As such, we argue that audience interaction on social media is an essential component of enhancing Paralympic solidarity, promoting disability inclusion and fostering social change.

DRF Seminar Series 2022 - Event 1