Disability at the Intersection of Hist., Culture, Rel., Gender, and Health

1355 West Wisconsin Avenue,Milwaukee WI 53233

03 March, 2022

Description

This conference aims to encourage open discussion and better understanding to break down the stigma associated with disabilities. Disability is a living human experience. It is not merely a medical or biological phenomenon, and it is not only the subject of physical sciences. Perspectives on disability have evolved historically, theologically, and medically. Academics and disability activists have increasingly come to view disability as more than an individual medical diagnosis, often highlighting it as an issue of social justice and equity. As such, there is a need for further collaboration between the sciences and the humanities to deepen our understanding of disability in all of its complexities. Using interdisciplinary approaches to examine disability as a fluid and dynamic condition can help us understand it as an identity and as a social construct. This conference aims to generate inclusive dialogues and interdisciplinary interactions between academia, community organizers, social and legal activists, health care service/providers, and religious leaders. The conference will serve as a platform to foster collaboration between various groups engaged in understanding and improving disability conditions. Our conference is headlined by two keynote speakers: Sr. Joohi Tahir and Dr. Lennard Davis. Joohi Tahir is a graduate of Boston University and the Co-Founder and Executive Director of Muslims Understanding & Helping Special Education Needs (MUHSEN). For the past 15 years, Sr. Tahir has served as an outspoken activist regarding awareness and inclusion for individuals on the Autism Spectrum, including her daughter, and advocates for increased resources, accommodation, and acceptance through MUHSEN. Starting with community initiatives and discussions with masjid administrators and mainstream academics, Joohi has strived to lead by example as a national advocate for Muslims with disabilities. Dr. Lennard Davis is a Distinguished Professor of English, Professor of Disability and Human Development, and Professor of Medical Education at the University of Illinois at Chicago. Additionally, Dr. Davis is the director of Project Biocultures, a think-tank devoted to studying the intersection of culture, medicine, biotechnology, the biosphere, and disability. Dr. Davis has spoken on his experience of childhood in a deaf household, and has written extensively on issues of disability and human rights. His current research focuses on issues of disability, literary and cultural theory, genetics, race, identity, and biocultural issues. Since the establishment of the organization in 2009, AMWRRI uses its research, social, and cultural activities to raise awareness and involve communities. It has been holding public events, workshops, and exhibits to raise awareness and combat stereotypes about Arab and Muslim communities. Its activities, including its ongoing Oral History research, highlight the diversity of the Arab and Muslim communities in the United States and in the Milwaukee area in particular. It provides knowledge and raises awareness about the diversity of Arabs and Muslim communities. It builds relationships and facilitates important research on immigrants and their subsequent generations from African, Asian, and Middle Eastern backgrounds. It also engages scholars and researchers in practical research that addresses communities’ and peoples’ practical needs. Issues of concern are interfaith, interracial, and cross-cultural marriages, advocacy for members with disabilities in Arab and Muslim communities and their families, and human rights and gender equality.