Facilitated by: Amanda Leduc, Author, Disability Advocate, BA, MA
Language can play a powerful role in how we and others perceive and experience the world around us. In this session, Author and Disability Advocate, Amanda Leduc will challenge us to interrogate the language of disability, and the impact this may have on our work with children and families.
From the Seven Dwarfs through to the Little Mermaid, depiction of the disabled body in literature and mainstream media has been undeniably shaped by fairy tale story, rhythm, and the quest for the “happy ending”. This, in turn, has inextricably altered the language that we use around disability and how that language shapes our perceptions. How can we challenge our language to see the disabled body—and disability itself—in a new light? How can we make our world accessible both in the built environment and in the language that we use? Join Canadian author and disability rights advocate Amanda Leduc for a presentation exploring the history of the disabled body in fairy tales and literature—a talk that examines the forces that shape our perceptions, and encourages us to re-imagine our language and the stories we tell so that disabled bodies—and human beings—can thrive in the world we shape with story today.
Amanda Leduc is a writer, speaker, and disability rights advocate. She is the author of the non-fiction book Disfigured: On Fairy Tales, Disability, and Making Space (Coach House Books, 2020), which was longlisted for the 2020 Barbellion Prize, and the novels The Miracles of Ordinary Men (ECW Press, 2013) and The Centaur’s Wife (Random House Canada, 2021). Her new novel, Wild Life, is forthcoming from Random House Canada in 2024.
Amanda holds a Masters degree in Creative Writing from the University of St. Andrews, Scotland (2008), and a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Creative Writing and Philosophy from the University of Victoria, BC (2006). She speaks regularly at festivals, conferences, and events across Canada and the US on accessibility, inclusion, and disability in storytelling. She is the Communications and Development Coordinator for the Festival of Literary Diversity (FOLD), Canada’s first festival for diverse authors and stories, and contributes regularly to publications across Canada, the US, and the UK.
To access printable poster, please use the following link: The Language of Disability Poster
Thursday, June 15
6:30 – 8:00PM
Via Zoom
** Access link and password will be emailed to you prior to the event.
** Ticket Types are based on the County you WORK in.