New Ways of Knowing: Doing Disability Studies Differently by Clementine Morrigan and geoff
from the margins presents:
New Ways of Knowing: Doing Disability Studies Differently, Clementine Morrigan presenting "Making Space For Complexity: The Arts and Counter-Narratives of Trauma" and geoff presenting "Destabilizing Disability: Including addiction for cross-movement solidarity" at Intermingling Disability Communities: Reclaiming Our Bodies & Minds Conference 2015
Saturday February 28, 2:15-3:30 PM
Oakham Lounge at Ryerson Student Centre, 55 Gould St.
Panel presentation followed by discussion
Making Space For Complexity: The Arts and Counter-Narratives of Trauma by Clementine Morrigan
Abstract:
I will take seriously the art produced by trauma survivors and consider these artistic works for their social, political, aesthetic and epistemological value. The legal and psychiatric discourses which dominate cultural understandings of violence and trauma are insufficient for expressing the complexities of the lived, embodied experiences of violence and trauma. Legal narrations of trauma are shaped by a search for the legitimacy of the accusations. Whether or not the accused is guilty is of more importance than the survivors embodied and affective knowledge of the events. Within psychiatric and medical discourses trauma takes the shape of PTSD and other diagnoses, locating trauma within the survivor and leaving no space for systemic understandings of the production and experience of trauma. While art is considered useful for its therapeutic value to trauma survivors, rarely is the art that survivors produce, whether within the context of art therapy or outside of it, taken seriously as real art.
In her essay Poetry is Not a Luxury Audre Lorde argues that Poetry is the way we help give name to the nameless so it can be thought. She sees poetry as an essential space in which embodied experience and emotion can be given voice. Poetry is a way to access feeling and through poetry we learn to cherish our feelings, and to respect those hidden sources of our power from where true knowledge and, therefore, lasting action comes. I believe that Lordes ideas about poetry can be applied to other art forms as well. For survivors who are forced into clinical and chronological narration of trauma, art can be a space in which to express embodied knowing, ambiguity and complexity which do not fit neatly into the narrow confines of psychiatric or legal discourse. Such expressions, I will argue, not only have epistemological value, they also have the potential to inform concrete political action and social change.
Bio:
Clementine Morrigan aka Violet Seawitch aka Jason Star is a gender/queer femme sober-addict witch. They are a multidisciplinary writer and artist. Their work spans genres and mediums, including essays, poetry, creative non-fiction, zines, illustration, short film, self-portraiture and sculpture. Their first book, Rupture, was published in 2012. They produced a short film entitled Resurrection in 2013. They write a zine called seawitch and work on other zine projects. They are a facilitator and community organizer. They also read and teach tarot. For more info please visit http://clementinemorrigan.com
Destabilizing Disability: Including addiction for cross-movement solidarity by geoff
Abstract:
Destabilizing disability, to include addiction opens up possibilities for coalition building across marginalized experiences and creates new ways of knowing. Addiction has rarely been considered through a disability studies perspective. Yet, the experience of the addicted body can be explained through a disability studies perspective without naming the addict as disabled. Shifting disability from an identity category into the more relatable experiences of normalcy and accessibility is useful to creating alliance across differences. I will first destabilize the fixed imagination of the disabled body. Following, I will suggest that the addicted body does not relate to disabled body. Next, I will suggest that shared experiences relating to ab/normalcy and in/accessibility are more relatable to the addicted body. Finally, I will argue that including addiction in disability theory creates possibilities for coalition building and new ways of knowing.
Bio:
geoff is a mixed race gender queer anarchist that believes in creating communities of love and still dreams of smashing the state. they identify as an addict in recovery. they wish to politicize their experiences with substance use and sobriety while unravelling the limited representation of the addicted body. for more info please visit http://livingnotexisting.org
Accessibility:
We encourage people to ask questions freely throughout the paper presentations and discussions.
FREE, please register for the conference and attend all the wonderful events planned. Register following the link:
ASL interpretation provided
Wheelchair accessible building
Please come scent free
