"Normalcy as Dystopia: Disability Studies Perspectives"
This panel welcomes submissions examining how British, American, or world literary texts fashion, reinforce, or subvert normative standards regarding what constitutes body form and function. Proposals addressing the SAMLA 88 theme are especially welcome: for people with disabilities, the hegemonic ideology of normalcy creates the dystopian reality within which they must live. This panel seeks submissions that focus less on texts containing disabled characters and more on ones exploring the ways in which societies disable individuals. Papers are welcome that investigate embodiment, bioculture, and/or what Rosemarie Garland-Thomson terms the “normate.” Papers analyzing discursive structures that contribute to shaping current thinking about ability and disability are particularly welcome. By June 3 please submit a 300-word abstract, brief bio, and A/V requirements to Dr. Chris Gabbard, University of North Florida, cgabbard@unf.edu.