DFG Conference: Disability in Literature, Film and Theatre

How do people with cognitive disabilities express themselves in the theatre? How is a film about visually impaired characters created in which they themselves take part? These and other questions will be addressed at a DFG conference on inclusion, integration and differentiation at the Chair of Romance Literatures and Cultures at the University of Passau. The conference will be held in Spanish from 29 November to 2 December 2018.

Inclusion is a highly contemporary topic that affects numerous areas of public life. To protect the rights and dignity of people with disabilities and ensure their full participation in social life, inclusion is often demanded as a human right. However, it often remains vague what the term actually means and the boundaries between the concepts of integration and differentiation are imprecise.

The opportunities and risks of inclusion, integration and differentiation are also debated in artistic texts, which have so far hardly been the focus of literary cultural studies. The international conference "Inclusion, Integration, Differentiation" (original title: "Inclusión, integración, diferenciación: la diversidad funcional en la literatura, el cine y las artes escénicas") at the Chair of Romance Literatures and Cultures (Prof. Dr Susanne Hartwig) at the University of Passau, funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG), will therefore approach key concepts of the inclusion debate on literature, film and theatre in the Spanish-speaking world.

The focus is not only on where fictional and semi-fictional texts portray people with and without disabilities, but above all on where and how people with disabilities themselves contribute to these texts. For example, how is a film about visually handicapped people made with the participation of visually handicapped people? How do people with cognitive disabilities express themselves in (professional) theatre, for example?

The conference will take place from 29 November to 2 December 2018 in Spanish. It represents a further step towards consolidating an international research group "Disability Studies in Hispanic Studies". In addition to text, film and theatre analyses, directors and managers of inclusive theatres will also have their say in order to analyse the concepts of inclusion, integration and differentiation based on their practical experience. This mixture of theoretical and practical approaches is uncharted scientific territory for Hispanic studies. Invited are colleagues who have already dealt with the topic of disability studies in their research, as well as people from the field (theatre and dance) who will report on specific inclusion projects and show samples of their work.

The photo shows the two actors Helliot Baeza and Manuel Cañadas from the Spanish group "Danza Mobile" in the play "Encuentros y Saludos".

Principal Investigator(s) at the University	Prof. Dr. Susanne Hartwig (Lehrstuhl für Romanische Literaturen und Kulturen)
Project period	29.11.2018 - 07.03.2019
Source of funding	DFG - Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft > DFG - Internationales > DFG - Internationales - Internationale wissenschaftliche Veranstaltungen Ministerio de Cultura y Deporte > Ministerio de Cultura y Deporte - HISPANEX