Cripping Expectations: Accessibility, Interdependence, and Survival Among Disabled College Students

• In Event: Dismantling Ableism in the Academy: Challenging Exclusionary Practices and Pedagogies

Abstract

In the neoliberal higher education system, ‘successful’ student experiences inside and outside of the classroom involve developing employable skills, building a professional network, and obtaining gainful employment. For disabled college students, however, the neoliberal vision of success is often inaccessible, and disabled students face myriad barriers to participation in both the academic and co-curricular realms. Despite barriers, disabled students have formed campus affinity groups that support their social connectedness, identity formation, and well-being. Little is known, however, about how disabled students challenge neoliberal expectations within these student-led settings. Through the lens of Crip Theory, this study analyzes interviews with disabled students to learn how they resist and reshape neoliberal expectations within their campus affinity groups.

Author

• Jessica Hinson-Williams, Boston College