Critical Studies: An Interdisciplinary and International Journal

Call for Papers

Special Issue: DISABILITY RESEARCH FROM THE GROUND UP

While disability encompasses a vast range of physical, developmental, learning, and psychiatric conditions, disabled people* share in common experiences of discriminatory treatment, including physical, architectural, technological, and attitudinal barriers to their full and equal participation in their communities. The net result is that disabled people lack meaningful and full access to education, employment, and independent living, and are more likely to live in poverty. Poverty and created dependency render these populations vulnerable to abuse. The scope of these injustices calls for research that is responsive to community need and demand, and geared toward real structural change.

This special issue addresses the crucial questions haunting disability research:

• What should disability researchers prioritize?


• How can disability research recognize the expertise of disabled
  people, disability justice activists, and disability-based organizations?


• How can disability research benefit from collaborative and equal
  partnerships with community members?


• How can disability research communicate findings in ways that
  meaningfully contribute to empowerment, capacity-building, and
  transformative impacts?

We welcome submissions that engage in rigorous critical analysis of disability research in relation to healthcare, rehabilitation programming, social policy, and government services, among other areas. We welcome submissions from disciplines in both health sciences and social sciences and humanities disciplines, including public health, rehabilitation, sociology, critical psychology, political science, legal studies, women and gender studies, Indigenous studies, critical race studies, and disability studies.

Section 1: What Do Community Leaders Want Disability Research to Prioritize?

This special issue welcomes submissions from non-academic sources—particularly disability justice activists and leaders of disability-based organizations—who can address what academic research on disability should prioritize.

Section 2: How Does Community-Based Disability Research Work?

Methodological submissions may address how community-based disability research operates, dealing with the following issues:

· How to involve community partners at all research stages

· How to build non-academic research outcomes

· Challenges related to research ethics boards

· Self-reflexive research processes

· And more

Submission Deadline: Friday, March 31, 2023

Format: Word documents, double-space, 1-inch margins, APA 6^th edition citation format. Papers should not exceed 25 pages including all references, tables and footnotes. All submissions will be peer reviewed by anonymous reviewers.

To submit a manuscript, please register at: http://uoit.scholarsportal.info/ojs/index.php/index/index

For more information, please contact the editors:

Dr. Toba Bryant: [log in to unmask]

Dr. Jen Rinaldi: [log in to unmask]

*The special issue editors made the deliberate choice to use identity-first language. However, we recognize that language in disability scholarship is hotly contested. Authors submitting manuscripts are welcome to make their own choices.