Reflections: A Journal of Community-Engaged Writing and Rhetoric Feb 2018 Open Access

“An Open Mesh of Possibilities”: Engaging Disability Studies as a Site of Activist and Leadership Possibilities

Stephanie K. Wheeler

Abstract

This article offers a case study of the development and implementation of a free activist and leadership course for members of the community planning on running for elected office. The article describes how the course was developed, including an explanation of the partnership between the Latino Leadership Institute (LLI) and the University of Central Florida’s United Faculty of Florida (UCF-UFF), which resulted in the creation of an Orlando LLI chapter. The Electoral Activism and Leadership Academy (EALA), as the course was called, was motivated by two disability methodologies: first, a “madness narrative methodology” (Fields), wherein “representations are fragmented and nonrational,” even “resisting objectivity, linearity, and rational progression,” and secondly, a “nothing about us without us” methodology (Fields), which advocates the need for open discussions about action with populations who would be affected by such action. These methodologies helped reduce anxiety around the subject, offering a space for instructors and participants to participate as and when they could, share their stories, and get advice. This paper demonstrates that when oppressive cultural and political climates fragment bodies and identities of marginalized people, that fragmentation becomes the catalyst for opportunities of resistance. These fragmentations ultimately are representative of the cracks in oppressive systems, giving rise to the urgent need for the inclusivity of underrepresented or neglected perspectives, voices, and bodies to achieve everyday rhetorical resistance.

Journal
Reflections: A Journal of Community-Engaged Writing and Rhetoric
Published
2018-02-01
DOI
10.59236/rjv17i3pp87-110
CompPile
Open Access
OA PDF Gold
Topics
rhetorical criticism qualitative research race and writing disability studies
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