NSF Award
2435084
This award supports the convening of a two-day hybrid workshop on approaches to disability across biological, archaeological, and cultural subfields of anthropology, held in association with the 2025 meeting of the Society for Applied Anthropologists. It unites disabled and non-disabled scientists to mutually query the strengths and limitations of current frameworks on disability in anthropology, convening the first anthropology-wide, state-of-the-art conference on disability in anthropology. <br/><br/>Anthropologists are particularly well positioned to leverage the range of scientific and experiential insights that expand the science of disability and the welfare of disabled people. Disability – typically defined as functional impairment (biomedical definition) or poor fit with social structures built for able-bodied individuals (disability studies definition) – affects nearly all people at one time or another. The conference organizers and participants specifically examine the variations of diagnosis, experience, and management of disabilities across individuals, social groups, contexts, and time periods with the aim of developing a closer understanding of this key component of human existence. <br/><br/>The conference results in a number of tangible broader impacts, including: supporting disabled investigators with little or no prior NSF support; supporting students and faculty in EPSCoR jurisdictions and within minority-serving institutions; creating a white paper that describes how to run accessible conferences in anthropology; and broadly disseminating results to academic and non-academic audiences. The outcomes of the conference will be evaluated using a robust evaluation tool to drive targeted dissemination efforts and engagements in the social science of disability. The conference engages junior and senior scholars and seeks to build scientific and publishing and dissemination networks between scholars and to broaden the participation of scientists with disabilities. This project is supported by the Cultural Anthropology, Biological Anthropology, and Archaeology programs.<br/><br/>This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
