I WAS NEVER ALONE (IWNA), a play script based on ethnographic fieldwork in Petrozavodsk, Russia with adults with disabilities, just keeps on moving - developing in new ways and finding collaborators and possibilities that, as a first-time documentary playwright, continue to astound and amaze me. The February 2016 staged reading of IWNA (dir. Joseph Megel) … Continue reading I WAS NEVER ALONE keeps on moving
UNC
I WAS NEVER ALONE workshop and staged reading
This week takes me back to North Carolina to work on logistics leading up to a planned workshop and staged reading that will take place at UNC-Chapel Hill Performance Studies during the first week of February 2016. The workshop will be the second process presentation for I WAS NEVER ALONE, a documentary play script and … Continue reading I WAS NEVER ALONE workshop and staged reading
California and other changes
I'm thrilled to announce that have accepted an appointment as the 2015-2016 Postdoctoral Fellow in Ethnographic Design at the Studio for Ethnographic Design at the University of California San Diego. This is an exciting position that includes a departmental home in the UCSD Department of Communication, and a key role in planning and executing upcoming … Continue reading California and other changes
Using Oral History to teach engaged Disability Studies at UNC-CH
I wrote recently about the launch of a collaborative website - a digital archive of oral histories of disability advocacy at UNC-CH, gathered by undergraduate students in two disability studies courses during the spring of 2014. I wanted to highlight the philosophy behind that project, so I've excerpted below the "Why Oral History" page from … Continue reading Using Oral History to teach engaged Disability Studies at UNC-CH
Website Launch: The ADA Legacy Project at UNC-CH
I have been lucky to work over the past semester with Dr. Lauren Fordyce and Dr. Neel Ahuja on an engaged research project. Undergraduate students in both Dr. Fordyce's and Dr. Ahuja's courses have worked to gather oral history interviews and relevant news and events on issues related to disability advocacy and awareness on the … Continue reading Website Launch: The ADA Legacy Project at UNC-CH
Teaching Engaged Anthropology: Disability History at UNC-CH
This spring, I am very excited to be working with medical anthropologist Dr. Lauren Fordyce, instructor of the Anthropology of Disability course at UNC-CH, and Dr. Neel Ahuja, instructor for the Disability Studies course housed in the English department, to launch an applied undergraduate course project that seeks to contribute to a sense of disability … Continue reading Teaching Engaged Anthropology: Disability History at UNC-CH
Fall teaching – the UNITAS curriculum for social justice
I'm very excited to be working this coming school year with Maggie Morgan-Smith and Anna Agbie-Davies to teach an amazing course that focuses on diversity, social justice, and why ethnography is an important methodology for engaged scholars. The UNITAS curriculum has been around as a "Living Learning Community" at UNC-CH for quite a few years … Continue reading Fall teaching – the UNITAS curriculum for social justice
Springtime Laudations
It's been an exciting few months! Not only does mid-May find me wrapping up my year of fieldwork in Petrozavodsk (bye for now, everyone - I'll miss you!), my email inbox has been full of good news and encouragement. In April, it was announced that my paper was selected for the 2013 Irving K. Zola … Continue reading Springtime Laudations
cassandra hartblay 