Spatializing the Intersections: Moving Toward a Geographical Imagination in Disability Studies and Education

• In Event: Consilience-ing, Self-Study-ing, Radical Love-ing at the Boundaries of Disability Studies in Education and (Special) Education

Abstract

This paper critically examines how my research and lived experiences influences my philosophy and praxis as an educator. Drawing from research on the socio-spatiality of racial and ethnic minorities with disabilities (Author, Year) and personal experiences as a hard of hearing/deaf Korean adoptee who communicates via oral communication and American Sign Language, I explore the implications of developing and incorporating a socio-spatial awareness when re-conceptualizing the role of the teacher. I also discuss the importance of geographical imagination as one re-approaches intersectional disability justice across the contested landscape of Disability Studies (DS) and education.

I utilize multiple frameworks: disability studies, spatiality, and Freire’s (1970/2000) dialogue and praxis. Shifting away from an individualistic and pathological understanding of disability, Disability Studies contends that disability is a social construct whose meaning is constructed by multiple institutions (Ferri & Connor, 2006; Goodley, 2010). Similarly, multiple fields (e.g., critical spatial studies, geography, and architectural theory) contend the notion that space is merely a neutral outcome or by-product of social production (Soja, 1980; 1989). Reframing space as contested, historic, stratified, and fluid presents a deeper understanding of the dynamic between ideologies, lived experiences, and institutions. To interweave bridges between disability studies, education, and the socio-spatial lens, Freire’s (1970/2000) notion of dialogue and praxis not only presents grounds for critical introspection, but also understanding the importance of entwining theories, lived experiences, and praxis.

I utilize self-study approach due to the nature of the research topic. Self-study approach uses lived experiences to problematize one’s teacher’s identity and teaching practice with the objective to transform one’s pedagogy and praxis, both on a personal and professional level (Feldman, 2002; Lassonde, Galman, & Kosnik, 2009). This analytical process includes artifacts from the research (e.g., found poetry and photography) along with lived experiences as a person of color and disability to examine my identity and pedagogical values as an educator. Together, multiple frameworks and narratives offers a deeper and richer understanding of the urgency for collectively structuring intersectional, humanizing, and liberating educational experiences.

As social and political institutions, schools maintain hegemonic notions about what constitutes education and disability through multiple forms: curriculum, culture, and policies (Valle, Solis, Volpitta, & Connor, 2004). Through multiple media, racial and ethnic minorities with disabilities illustrate the contested socio-spatial dynamic between their multiple identities and spaces across educational settings. Their experiences counter that they are merely disabled bodies, but instead they come from all walks of life. Socio-spatial understanding of their everyday interactions offers intrinsic considerations when rethinking the dynamic between teacher and students, teaching and learning, and DS and education.

“None of us is beyond geography, none of us is completely free from the struggle over geography” (Said, 1993, p. 7). While engaging in critical introspection is vital for intersectional, humanizing, and liberating educational experience, particularly among historically marginalized individuals, the geographical imagination offers alternative ways of how we, educators, can rethink multi-dimensional understanding and solutions while negotiating the boundaries of DS and education.

Author

• Holly Pearson, Framingham State University