Making of the Activist Disabled Subject: Disability and Political Activism in English Higher Education

• In Event: Disquieting Higher Education: Foucault and Contemporary Theories in Education

Abstract

Drawing on a Foucauldian theorisation and an in-depth study with eight disabled student activists in England, this paper explores how persistent marginalisation and ableism in higher education has triggered a wave of activism among disabled students, who, just before the advent of the pandemic, had organised a structured movement, Disabled Students UK. We employ Foucault’s ideas of the care of the self and others to discuss the formation of disabled students as activist subjects fighting discrimination in a ‘hybrid reality’ that indeed has opened for more inclusive spaces but also exposed the ableism rooted in certain academic practices. The paper promotes discussion on the nurturing relationship that exists between the individual and the community in constituting disability activism.

Authors

• Rille Raaper, Durham University

• Francesca Peruzzo, University of Birmingham