Reclaiming Our Bodies and Minds (Disability Oppression Action Conference).

Hey Everyone!!

So February and March have been busy months. There is much I want to blog about but, of course finding the time is always a  challenge! 

Today though, I wanted to write about a conference. On March 16^th I attended and presented at Ryerson University’s Reclaiming Our Bodies and Minds (Disability Oppression Action Conference). This event was hosted by RyeACCESS and The Ryerson Student Union (http://www.reclaimingourbodiesandminds.com/workshops/). It was a great conference bringing together: community members, activists and academics. I really enjoyed meeting people and learning from them. I presented:  

"When academia, lived experience come together: reflections on the medium of blogging and the connection between lived experience and social".  

The presentations were divided into streams my stream was: Disability in Post-Secondary Education. The description of my paper was as follows:

Description:  This paper reflects on my experience as a co-blogger on a disability issues blog: “East meets West – Sam & Jo’s Perspectives” (http://eastmeetswexx.blogspot.ca). I wish to think about how critical analysis provides access to a discourse which creates a language of liberation for activists.  To explore this I will reflect on how Jo Kelly and I came to be bloggers. I wish to use my relationship with Jo as an example of how the activist and academic community are intertwined.  To further investigate my experience I will think along with disability scholars such as Irving  Zola, Tanya Titchkosky , and Rod Michalko.

This was my bio (Fancy eh?)

Facilitator Bios:  Samantha Walsh is a disability scholar, activist and has experience within the professional service sector.  She is currently a Doctoral Candidate at the University of Toronto-OISE In the department of Humanities, Social Sciences, and Social Justice Education (HSSSJE), formerly Sociology and Equity Studies.  Samantha completed her undergraduate degree in Sociology at the University of Guelph. She also holds a Master’s degree in Critical Disability Studies from York University. She is also the co-host of a blog “East meets West-Sam and Jo’s perspectives: A Canadian perspective on disability issues in Canada and around the world”.  Website: http://eastmeetswexx.blogspot.ca/

The presentation was an hour long which is a very long time to present an academic paper so; I decided to do something a little different. I do not usually do workshop style presentations. Normally, I do academic panel presentations. In an academic structure you just read the paper or do a power point presentation.
I tried to create a community conversation by reading two examples of blog posts by myself and Jo. I also used open ended conversations to try and facilitate communication and generate ideas about blogging as a tool for activism. I was quite pleased by the results this yielded: A community conversation that brought together many rich perspectives on disability, access and the community at large.

I feel honored to have had the opportunity to present at and attend such an amazing conference. I think this is the future this is where change is happening when critical theory, academia engages with activists and people who live out experiences of marginalization, change and self empowerment. I was inspired to make my research my relevant to those whom do not have the opportunity to sit with me in school.

Thank you RyeACCESS and The Ryerson Student Union for giving me such an amazing opportunity and reminding me that without action theory is nothing and without theory action is nothing (I am sure someone else said that because, I am not that eloquent, I can’t remember who…).  This was the reminder I didn’t even know I needed that community engagement is invaluable to the process of social change.

What a great way to spend a Saturday!!