February 26, 2009
Autism activism is topic of Canadian’s lecture
A ‘Spectrum’ of Disputes: Framing Autism Activism in Canada and the U.S. is the title of a lecture by Michael Orsini scheduled for 7 p.m. Wednesday, March 4, in the Walker-Ames Room, Kane.
Orsini, an associate professor in the School of Political Studies at the University of Ottawa, is the Canada-U.S. Fulbright Visiting Research Chair in the Canadian Studies Center through June. In Ottawa, he teaches courses in Canadian politics and health policy and recently completed a cross-country study on the experience of living with hepatitis C. His doctoral dissertation was called Blood, Blame and Belonging: HIV, Hepatitis C and the Emergence of Blood Activism in Canada.
His talk will sketch the contours of the contested terrain of autism/autistic activism, asking questions about how to conceptualize autism activism in the field of “health social movements” more generally, and about whether these forms of activism represent a form of continuity or rupture with other social movements organized around combating injustice.
The lecture is part of the Henry M. Jackson School of International Studies’ “Hot Spots in Your World” Lecture Series. It is free and open to the public.
