Disability in relation to family is a topic that is not often openly talked about. More specifically, disability in regards to race, gender and family dynamics is typically disregarded in favor of upholding and applying more traditional values towards individuals. In turn, this deepens systems of inequity and contributes to those with disabilities to feel disregarded by society. Because it does not tend to be commonly discussed, individuals with disabilities can find themselves feeling isolated and seeking belonging and kinship outside of their family.
The presentations that are part of this session represent a range of backgrounds that result in a panel that is internationally focused featuring works that examine Latin American and South Asian norms regarding women, motherhood, and disability. The topics in these presentations include issues surrounding maternal caregiving, parental expectations of disabled children including the problematic normalization of disabilities, and how societal institutions such as capitalism further marginalize individuals across film, novels, television, short stories, and real life. Although the presentations highlight different types of media, they are all connected through a common focus on topics directly related to disability and family. Each presentation builds on one another through emphasizing different aspects of the central topic. Combined, their presentations demonstrate the global issue of disability; they are united by narratives that share common experiences that will, as a result, create a space that fosters visibility.
There are four presentations listed for this panel. To allow time for each presentation, participants will be limited to twelve minutes instead of fifteen. As moderator, I will alert participants to when there is five minutes and one minute left before we have to move on to the next presentation. One paper has a co-presenter listed. I do not anticipate that this will be an issue since their abstract states that their paper includes personal vignettes about their choice whether or not to pursue motherhood that results in a dialogue.
The speakers’ backgrounds reflect their expertise in their various approaches to the subject. Antonia Alvarado-Puchulu is a Ph.D. student from the University of Michigan whose research focuses on problems surrounding medical control and patient agency. Kyeongmin Hwang is a Ph.D. student at the University of Texas at Dallas where he is researching the ethics of care through the lenses of affect and disability studies. Nayoung Bishoff is a Columbian Distinguished Fellow and Ph.D. student at George Washington University. Their current work is a chapter that will be published in the forthcoming anthology Disability in Comics and Graphic Narratives (Palgrave Macmillan) that is titled “Extraordinary, Yet Surprisingly Ordinary: Reparative Narratives of Autism in the Webtoon ‘Extraordinary Attorney Woo.’” Lastly, Nabila Huq is a Ph.D. candidate at Queen’s University in Canada and Sonia Sharmin holds a Ph.D. from the University of Georgia and was a Fulbright Foreign Language Teaching Assistant.
This panel was originally designed to be a virtual panel. I am unable to travel to Canada to attend the 2026 Convention in person due to financial reasons. I stated that this would be a virtual session in the Call for Papers that was posted and reminded participants of that fact when emailing that they had been selected to be part of the panel.
The original idea for this panel emerged from my experiences as a disabled scholar working in higher education and navigating feelings of isolation and exclusion in my family life. I was also inspired by the recent fascination with disability across popular culture in the United States. Reading the abstracts that were submitted, I feel even more inspired because they all celebrate international perspectives on the topic with each abstract speaking to topics that others mention.