I teach, research, and lead in the fields of disability studies, young adult and children's literature, comics studies, post-1945 U.S literature and popular culture, and community-based education. My book-in-progress, HandiLand: The Crippest Place on Earth, will appear with University of Michigan Press in 2019. The book explores the new public profile of young people with a wide variety of disabilities since the worldwide rights laws of the past 25 years. I explore the consequences of their entering public spaces like nature, school, and fan culture through disability portrayals in contemporary young adult and children's literature, comics, fantasy, blogs, popular culture, and interviews with families and individuals with disabilities. Support for my scholarship has come from the Children's Literature Association, Oregon Humanities Center, and the Center for the Study of Women in Society.
I am the Director of the University of Oregon Disability Studies Minor, housed in the English Department. To add the minor, click here:
http://english.uoregon.edu/undergraduate/disability-studies-minor-declaration-form
And here's our website:
disability.uoregon.edu
I also direct the University of Oregon Literacy Initiative, a service learning program based in the English Department which pairs academic courses with internships at local schools and non-profit agencies.
http://english.uoregon.edu/tag/university-of-oregon-literacy-initiative
I work with the Shenanigans Theater Company, a performance class which brings together UO students and adults with disabilities from the local community to tell each other stories, create a play, and perform it together. This work is funded by the Williams Foundation, the UO Fund for Community-Engaged Teaching, and a private anonymous donor. To read a feature story about our 2018 production, click here:
https://around.uoregon.edu/oq/disability-studies-takes-center-stage
