An ironic way to celebrate the ADA

accessible taxis ruling, originally uploaded by Edu-Tourist.

A very vocal group of disability activists (including several Disability Studies scholars) turned up for an early August party at New York Mayor Blumberg's Gracie Mansion residence in Manhattan. Barred from making their feelings known regarding the city leadership's tepid support for the Americans with Disabilities Act, the protesters gathered outside and blocked the street outside the mansion for their own form of "celebration."

According to AP News, after the Second U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the Americans with Disabilities Act did not require the city to demand that cab companies serve people with disabilities, Mayor Blumberg lent his own wholehearted support for the decision.

Through strategic CNN iReport, Google+ and Facebook posts we learned that four of the protesters were arrested outside the August 9th ADA anniversary party. The sight of them being hauled away was itself ironically telling: since the police department did not not have any accessible paddy wagons. the four protesters had the loaded onto Access-A-Ride vans.

CFP: VariAbilities (4-7 July 2013, Emory University)

From DS-Hum:

VariAbilities: A conference on the history and representation of the body in its diversity

Emory University

4-7 July 2013

It is no longer useful to distinguish people by the binary opposition able-bodied/disabled. We now recognize people on a continuum of ability on which no-one is entirely able-bodied or entirely disabled. But was it always true? And if it is true now, does this require that we reconsider the use of binary oppositions when understanding people and their capabilities? VariAbilit(ies) is an interdisciplinary conference which will explore these questions. It will focus on the body and how it was treated and represented throughout history. Subject areas will include: Literary representations The Asylum The History of Poor Relief Gender/ Sexuality Disability and Aesthetics Disability and Race And anything else you are interested in

Please send abstracts (300 Words by 30 October 2012) to:

Chris Mounsey University of Winchester chris.mounsey@winchester.ac.uk

Paul Kelleher Emory University pkelleh@emory.edu

The CFP on Facebook.

Conference announcements on Twitter.