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disABILITY MUNDUS DOCTORAL SCHOOL

“RUIN-CARNATING DISABILITY”

June 30 - July 6, 2024 – Leuven, Belgium

This year’s doctoral school “Ruin-carnating Disability”, is thematically connected with the 12th Alter conference “Disability in the Real World”. The first part of the doctoral school is held before the conference, during the second part doctoral students participate in the conference, and during the third part, a closing meeting is held after the conference. Doctoral students are required to register both for the doctoral school and for the conference. We strongly encourage students to also actively participate during the conference.

The doctoral school’s main aim is to provide a space for PhD students to present their research on issues in disability, and to discuss it with the school’s trainers and with peers. A section of the doctoral school will focus on methodology, to allow participants to discuss the main issues they are facing in their PhD research in disability studies, from both a discipline-oriented and an interdisciplinary point of view. Finally, this school wishes to offer to PhD students an inclusive event to create and enrich their international network on disability research.

We welcome applications from doctoral students working on questions related to ‘disability in the real world’. A more specific topic of the doctoral school will be focused on the idea of “ruin-carnating disability?”, that is about problematising the ways that certain ideas of disability have become outlived and the need for giving new substance. This appears to be a question that can be best addressed in the context of global societies, with its links to colonialism, reduction of cultural diversity and species variation, climate change, and consciousness of the problems related to the centrality of humans.  We re-incarnate disability as we look at the past and the present which have become outlived and to places and things that have had a life but now become ruined. We investigate times, places, infrastructures, and things that mingle life – ruins – and reincarnations.

Questions we will explore are: How do we evolve our understanding and our being while ruin-carnating disability? Is ‘giving new flesh to the bone of’ disability an (im)possible, (un)necessary action?

We invite participants who have completed at least one year of their PhD program and are in the process of researching issues in disability through sociology, philosophy, law, education, nursing, policy, anthropology, linguistics, family studies, design studies, material culture, medicine, technology, and more. Experts from around the world lead the doctoral school through a transdisciplinary approach by questioning issues, practices, and perspectives on disability.

A reading package will be made available.

To apply for the Doctoral School, please send a 500-word abstract to prof. dr. Megan Strickfaden (University of Alberta, Canada) at megan.strickfaden@ualberta.ca AND to prof. dr. Patrick Devlieger (University of Leuven, Belgium) at patrick.devlieger@kuleuven.be by May 31, 2024

The abstract must have the following:

*Title

*Full name

*Contact information including your home university

*Expression of interest

*Stage of your PhD project

*Summary of your project focus (research question/s, aims, objectives)

*How Ruin-carnating Disability fits with your research project

Participation is limited to 18 seats and delivery of the doctoral school is in English. Cost is 120 euro which includes fee, lunches, and coffee breaks. Payment is to be made after acceptance. Students will need to register separately for the ALTER annual conference.

The doctoral school will take place in person at KU Leuven city campus, Leuven. Belgium. The precise location will be communicated at a later time.

Programme

Sunday June 30^th, 2024

18:00 Introductory Meeting & Welcome Dinner

Monday July 1^st, 2024

9:00 Introductory inputs

9:30 - 10:30 Explorations in Ruin-carnating Disability (course coordination)

10:30 - 11:00 Coffee break

11:00 - 12:30 Small group work on Ruin-carnating Disability

12:30 - 14:00 Lunch

14:00 - 15:30 Keynote

15:30 - 16:00 Coffee Break

17:00 Discussion

Evening: Dinner (on your own)

Tuesday July 2^nd, 2024

9:00 - 10:30 Seminar: Participants’ research on Ruin-carnating Disability

10.30-11:00 Coffee Break

11:00 – 12:30 Seminar: Participants’ research on Ruin-carnating Disability

12:30 - 14:00 Lunch

14:00 - 15:00 Seminar on Methodological Issues

16:00 - 18:00 Community visit

Evening: Dinner (on your own)

 Wednesday July 3^rd, 2024

9:30 - 12:30 Coming full circle: connecting doctoral student’s projects with the materials covered.

Wednesday July 3^rd till Friday July 5^th, 2024

Alter 12^th Annual Conference

We warmly encourage doctoral participants to attend the Alter Annual Conference. Please note that attending the annual conference requires a separate application and registration.

Saturday July 6st, 2024

10:00 -12:00 Closing meeting disABILITY MUNDUS DOCTORAL SCHOOL 2024.