News from Beyond North America
United Kingdom
(provided by Julie Anderson, University of Manchester, UK)
Inspired by Anne Borsay, a leading disability scholar in the UK, the Disability History Group (DHG) was formed under the auspices of the Society for the Social History of Medicine. Its goal is to broaden the scope of disability history in the UK. It delivers fresh and dynamic perspectives on the way disability has been used to legitimate and understand norms, social relations, inequality, and oppression. The Group's inaugural meeting and conference was held June 28-29 2007 at the Knowledge Spa at the Penninsula Medical School in Truro, Cornwall. Organised and hosted by DHG Committee member Wendy Gagen, Reassessing Disability: New Approaches to Disability History examined the practise of disability history, especially in the UK. We were indeed fortunate to have two leading disability scholars from the United States, Paul Longmore and David Serlin to provide the conference with insights into American disability history, as a contrast. More conferences are planned as well as a programme of workshops. In 2008 two workshops will be organised. Called 'Sight' and 'Sound' they are planned for June and September and will both be held at the University of Manchester. For details please contact Neil Pemberton: neil.pemberton@manchester.ac.uk or Julie Anderson: julie.anderson@manchester.ac.uk.
A conference was just held at the University of Swansea in October 2007. Hosted by Anne Borsay and Pamela Dale, “Children, Disability and Community Care” evaluated the role of specialised care for disabled children and adults and examined a wide range of subjects and issues including institutionalisation, child abuse and the voluntary sector.
The December 2007 publication of the European Review of History is a special edited issue focusing on disability. Edited by Ana Carden-Coyne and Julie Anderson, the Review contains a selection of papers from the 2005 conference Enabling the Past: New Perspectives in the History of Disability.
For details see: http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals/titles/13507486.asp.
For information about the DHG contact Wendy Gagen wendy.gagen@pms.ac.uk or Julie Anderson Julie.anderson@manchester.ac.uk