This past week was the 26th Annual Society for Disability Studies Conference, a gathering of academics from around the world who are working within the field of disability studies to meet, connect and share their research. This year’s conference was of particular importance as it marked the 50th anniversary of Erving Goffman’s text Stigma: Notes on the Management of Spoiled Identities, perhaps one of the most important texts used in early disability studies. While I wouldn’t claim that Goffman was the founder of disability studies, I do believe that the field of disability studies, at least not in its current incarnation, could not exist without the work of Goffman providing such fertile ground of criticism and exploration all those years ago. I met some amazing people and sat in on some spectacular panels, with topics focusing largely on subjectivity, biopower, and the emergent fields of Mad and Autism Studies. I also had the chance to participate in a media-focused panel with three other lovely academics and delivered a short presentation on some of my doctoral research. On the whole, the conference was both illuminating and energizing and I can’t wait to see everyone again at next year’s conference.
See you in Minneapolis!