Institute for Disability and Social Participation

Through the seven disciplines we represent – and mainly through our activity in Disability Studies & Critical Disability Studies – we contribute to the general academic advancement, critical thinking, and in-depth knowledge of social sciences involving, at the first level, university faculty and students. The Institute operates as a constructive, open and autonomous terrain of general and professional educational progress: it especially aims at the interpretation of the diversity of late modern societies. We offer a transdisciplinary approach, which is beyond the individual disciplines, and incorporates theoretical and methodological approaches to the acquisition of knowledge.

Education portfolio

Our teaching and research breaks from the traditional interpretation of disability as a person-fixed category. We aim to address disability holistically, as a relation, a social phenomenon, and a complex form of existence. The Disability Studies Doctoral Workshop, underway for five years now, is an interdisciplinary centre of research and teaching. We provide twenty courses in the Bachelor's degree programme, three in the Master's degree programme and four in the Doctoral programme, in Hungarian, German and English languages. In addition to the Erasmus courses, we also offer a Master's degree course in disability studies.

Research activities

Within our diverse fields of study, the OTKA research project “From equal opportunities to Taygetos?” stands out. Our interdisciplinary team examines the prospects of a disabled person, encompassing a chronological range from foetus to live birth, to family life, to growing up and, in particular, to opportunities for parenthood with a focus on people with intellectual disabilities. In addition, we conduct research on the history of disability, the self-determination of persons with high support needs, adults with ADHD and the female body vs. feminist disability studies themes. Within a European partnership we research the opportunities for employment for persons with disabilities, focusing on public and for-profit actors at present.

Partnerships

We liaise and work actively with numerous notable higher education actors and research and development professionals in Europe and beyond including Chava Baruchal (Yad Vashem Institute), Rosi Braidotti (Centre for Humanities, Utrecht University), Rosemary Garland-Thomson (Disability Studies Initiative, Emory University), Dan Goodley (The University of Sheffield), and Adolf Ratzka (Independent Living Institute, Stockholm).

Availability

E-Mail: fotri@barczi.elte.hu

Phone: (+ 36-1) 353-5554

photos: Magdolna Jelli, Founder of Independent Living Movement, Hungary; Thomas Gallaudet; The Hottentot Venus; Michel Foucault; Yoda: no legs, no arms, no cry; Simone de Beauvoir; Disability History Touring Exhibit; Making of the CRPD: Lex Grandia (and Don McKay); Randolph Silliman Bourne; Elmer the elephant, once lost his colors