Disability, Race, and Origin Intersectionality in the Doctoral Program: Ableism in Higher Education

Authors

Theodoto W. Ressa, Wayne State University
Scot Danforth, Chapman UniversityFollow

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

6-6-2023

Abstract

This paper explores the experiences of a doctoral disabled student at a university to examine how ableist structures in graduate programs affect access to higher education and post-degree outcomes. Guided by the DisCrit framework and autoethnography approach, the article illuminates systems and processes that disadvantage graduate disabled students. Through intersectional analyses of disability, race, and origin, the article makes visible manifestations of disability microaggressions and systemic ableism, racism, and xenophobia. It interrogates the perpetuation and normalization of academic transgressions, including exclusionary practices that degrade and oppress graduate disabled students and hinder them from seeking success. Finally, the argument is made in favour of reforms to authenticate disability culture, validate students’ rights to education, decolonize academics from ableism, and create a disability-friendly university environment.

Comments

This article was originally published in Scandinavian Journal of Disability Research, volume 25, issue 1, in 2023. https://doi.org/10.16993/sjdr.911

Recommended Citation

Ressa, Theodoto W. and Scot Danforth. 2023. “Disability, Race, and Origin Intersectionality in the Doctoral Program: Ableism in Higher Education.” Scandinavian Journal of Disability Research 25(1): 147–159. DOI: https://doi.org/10.16993/sjdr.911

Peer Reviewed

1

Copyright

The authors

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.