ABGESAGT - Doing Diversity - Ableism: Access conundrums

In this workshop we want to explore the options in higher education teaching that make access possible for disabled and chronically sick people.

Equal access for disabled and chronically sick people is a demand that is generally accepted as common sense. At the same time, access is often positioned as an impossibility due to a lack of resources, and structures based on normative assumptions seem rigid and unchangeable. On top of this, different access needs and requirements can stand in conflict with each other and fluctuate in relation to time and space. In a higher education context, additional challenges such as a normative understanding of time and academic performance pressure can stand in the way of achieving equal access.
In this workshop we want to explore the options in higher education teaching that make access possible within these areas of tension. We will discuss what shifts in thinking are necessary so that access is understood as a structural demand, not simply an individual one. What power dynamics need to be navigated to achieve this shift in a higher education setting? Together with participants, we use disability studies to examine case studies from a higher education context in order to talk about the meanings of ‘access’, discuss the conundrums that this term can generate and attempt finding solutions.

Edwin Ramirez a performance artist and stand up comedian based in Zurich. His work focuses on highlighting ableism and racism in daily life. In 2017 he was nominated for a Swiss Comedy Award in the category of best newcomer. From 2018-2019 he was part of the socially engaged performance collective Future Clinic for Critical Care, together with Jeremy Wade and Nina Mühlemann. The concept of care was at the centre of this project, and the collective created several shows in Zurich and Vienna, as well as workshops. Edwin Ramirez worked on the Future Clinic for Critical care as a writer, performer and dramaturg. Since 2020 he is co-director of the theatre project Criptonite at Gessnerallee Zurich. He also gives talks and workshops on the topics of afro futurism, science fiction and access.

Nina Mühlemann is an artist and scholar based in Zurich. In December 2017 she completed her PhD at King’s College London, where she also worked as a teaching assistant, in the research areas performance/theatre studies and disability studies. From 2018-2019 she and Jeremy Wade co-directed the socially engaged performance project Future Clinic for Critical Care. As part of this collective she created and performed in several shows in Zurich and Vienna, and taught workshops. Since 2020 she co-directs the theatre project Criptonite at Gessnerallee Zurich together with Edwin Ramirez. She also co-curated the IntegrART symposium 2019, a networking project of Migros Cultural Percentage, and a symposium at the No Limits Festival Berlin. She teaches and gives workshops on various topics within the areas of disability studies, theatre/performance studies and gender studies.

Please sign up for the course until March 13th: philipp.stofer@clutterunibas.ch

The workshop can be used in the "Zertifikat Hochschuldidaktik". 

Veranstaltung übernehmen als iCal