I was so caught up in the events surrounding the publication of The Bloomsbury Guide to Philosophy of Disability that I neglected to offer a report on Philosophy, Disability and Social Change 4 subsequent to the conference. The presentations were fantastic and the question periods that followed them were exceptionally lively. The book launch allowed contributors to The Bloomsbury Guide to Philosophy of Disability to introduce their pathbreaking work to members of the philosophical community who attended the event and to others who will watch the conference proceedings on YouTube. (Transcript coming soon.)

The last session of the conference, which consisted of a roundtable on the mechanisms of exclusion that disabled philosophers confront and strategies to circumvent them, was especially invigorating. For me, the most memorable moment of the roundtable was when Robert Chapman talked about the mobilization of disabled students as vehicles for change.

Robert noted that they are increasingly asked to supervise graduate students in philosophy who wish to write about neurodiversity and philosophy of disability; yet, they do not have a permanent job in a philosophy department that would enable them to do so. Thus, Robert encouraged the faculty attending the session to explain to their students the extent to which they can play a role in the recruitment of disabled philosophy faculty and the introduction and development of philosophy of disability courses that require specialists in philosophy of disability and critical disability theory. Tell your students to lobby the administrations of your universities and demand that they hire us, Robert implored the attendees of the session.

Which brings me to the prospects for disabled philosophy students in Canada who wish to go to graduate school and study philosophy of disability and critical disability theory. The opportunities to study disability at any level in a Canadian philosophy department outside of and beyond the context of bioethics are seriously limited. (Indeed, I have documented the dearth of disabled philosophers of disability in Canada and elsewhere in a number of publications, including here, here, here, and here.) Disabled philosopher Amandine Catala is doing fantastic work on neurodiversity and epistemic injustice in the Philosophy Department at Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM). Furthermore, UQAM’s philosophy department has a graduate program.

If, however, you wish to do graduate study in philosophy of disability and critical disability theory more generally, are not bilingual, do not want to resort to bioethics, and wish to stay in philosophy, then you will need to apply to study at a university outside of Canada, probably the United States.

My advice is hence that you very carefully consider whether you can survive, without the supports that you (may) have now, in environments–such as the philosophy classroom and neoliberal university more generally–that are both implicitly and explicitly hostile to disabled people. In other words, can you manage without the support system outside of the university that you may already have in place in Canada? Think about whether your health-care requirements; need for cultural alliances, friendships, and other emotional supports; and transportation needs, for instance, will be met in the United States or elsewhere. Think, furthermore, about how you would organize, acquire, and finance your meals, personal attendants, and shopping; how you would do your laundry; how you would get technical help with your assistive devices; and so on. These aspects of your day-to-day existence should not be regarded as secondary in your decision making about where you will live for the next several years or more.

If you wish to continue your studies in critical disability theory/philosophy of disability in general and your priority, for whatever reason–including money, health care, transportation, support systems, political and cultural affiliations–is to stay in Canada, then you will have to leave philosophy to continue to do so, that is, you will need to try to transfer to another discipline that welcomes disabled academics who study disability at the graduate level outside of the context of bioethics. Do your research. Join the Canadian Disability Studies Association (CDSA). Explore the possibilities in programs other than philosophy. A growing number of universities have interdisciplinary programs that welcome disabled students who study disability with a critical perspective.

Here is a non-exhaustive list of some possibilities for graduate study in critical/philosophical work on disability in Canada:

York University in Toronto has an interdisciplinary Ph.D. program in Critical Disability Studies. The program has historically had a concentration on international human rights discourse;

the disabled philosopher Joshua St. Pierre has a Canada Research Chair in Critical Disability Studies in the Political Science Department at the University of Alberta in Edmonton. Joshua St. Pierre specializes in dysfluency studies and phenomenology;

the disabled feminist theorist Kelly Fritsch is on the faculty of the Sociology Department at Carleton University in Ottawa. Kelly Fritsch specializes in critical disability theory and the Frankfurt School, feminist disability studies, and science and technology studies;

the disabled theorist Danielle Peers holds a Canada Research Chair in the Kinesiology Department at the University of Alberta in Edmonton. Danielle Peers specializes in disability and Foucault, movement, sports and disability;

the disabled theorist Tanya Tichkosky is in the Department of Social Justice and Equity Studies at the University of Toronto and specializes in accessibility, phenomenology, and disability and language;

the disabled theorist Ravi Malhotra is in the law school at the University of Ottawa. Ravi Malhotra specializes in globalization, political economy and disability, and workplace accessibility.