Pac Rim 2008 Info
Noted Speaker Series: Elizabeth DePoy & Stephen Gilson
Kathleen Tavenner Mitchell | Kay Nagata | Deanna L. Gregorio | Daniel Hubbell | Paul Glassman | Elizabeth DePoy | Stephen Gilson | Pōkā Laenui | Hewitt B. Clark
Tuesday April 15th, 2008: 9:00 am - 10:00 am in the Niihau Room on the topic of Disability Studies
“Disability Studies-Origins, Current Conflict, and Resolution”
In this presentation, we trace the history of disability studies and discuss its initial positioning in disciplines concerned with embodiment, images, and symbols as the basis for understanding and countering the view of disability as medical deficit with the promise of eliminating oppression and restoring human rights of people with atypical amine how and why disability studies became espoused by diverse professional academic fields and why this expansion was met with significant resistance from some disability scholars. Moving to the late 20th and early 21st centuries we analyze current disability studies approaches that continue to perpetuate discordance and debate among diverse disciplinary and professional academic homes. We conclude with the presentation and illustration of a progressive conceptual framework that transcends and heals the intellectual and professional fissures, links the field to thinking and action to serve multiple masters and provides a integrated direction for disability studies in the 21st century.
Biography: Elizabeth DePoy
Elizabeth DePoy is Professor and Coordinator of Interdisciplinary Education in Disability Studies at the Center for Community Inclusion and Disability Studies, University of Maine. Her publications include 7 print books, three electronic books, and over 60 journal articles. Her teaching and research interests are in methods of inquiry, universal access, and social justice.
Most recently, Dr. DePoy has engaged in theory generation and testing with emphasis on the application of legitimacy theory to diversity and to the advancement of universal ideology. She has applied this interest to disability, other areas of human diversity and to furthering equality of access to community resources for all people.
Biography: Stephen Gilson
After Stephen Gilson completed his Ph.D. in medical sciences, he was awarded a post-doctoral fellowship at the National Institute of Drug Abuse in Baltimore Maryland. He now is professor of Interdisciplinary Education in Disability Studies at the Center for Community Inclusion and disability Studies, University of Maine.
Dr. Gilson has authored and/or co-authored 6 books, has contributed many chapters to edited collections, and has over 40 articles published in peer reviewed journals. He is currently pursuing a collaborative research agenda in expanding access to health and prevention information through multiple approaches.
