Disability Studies in the Postcolonial/Decolonial World (Newsletter)
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Organization: Postcolonial Studies Association UK
Event: Newsletter
In his 2022 book, Elusive Kinship: Disability and Human Rights in Postcolonial Literature,
Christopher Krentz writes that “while disabled people everywhere have dealt with barriers
to making their views known, those in the Global South, who are usually people of color,
have long been largely unheard, despite numbering more than half a billion people . . . . Such
invisibility underscores how disabled people and those close to them in the Global South
have commonly been afterthoughts, deemed unimportant and disposable” (Krentz 2). While
the Global South is Krentz’s focus, we also acknowledge these issues in minority and
indigenous communities globally. Whether from situations of poverty, lack of medical
access, environmental disasters, racism, sexism, or war, bodies that are disabled are
locations of political contention within societies worldwide. Nirmala Erevelles writes that
“In contexts where subsistence itself is a struggle, third world disabled people . . . face the
social, political, and economic implications of being invisible” (Disability 133). Bearing in
mind these issues that surround disability studies across postcolonial and decolonial
disciplines, we seek papers that speak to these questions and more: How are people living
with disabilities seen or not seen in cultures across the globe? Are they hidden or present?
Validated or invalidated? How are human rights, social justice, liminal spaces, Self/Other,
and more considered in disability studies from a postcolonial/decolonial perspective?
Original contributions should be between 700 and 1,200 words and should be fully
referenced using Harvard Referencing Style. Please also send a 100-word biographical
statement.
We are also looking for book reviews in relation to any books in the field of postcolonial
studies which were published within the last 5/6 years. Reviews should be between 500 and
1,000 words and should be fully referenced using Harvard Referencing Style.
The deadline for submissions is January 31, 2026.
Extended deadline for submissions – February 25, 2026
Please submit your contribution via email to the PSA Newsletter editorial team: Francesca
Mussi franci.mussi86@gmail.com and Jennifer Gray jgray@tntech.edu. If you have any
questions please don’t hesitate to get in touch with either Francesca or Jennifer
Jennifer Gray