Significant Literature

EPSE 590

Renn, K. A., (2012) LGBT and Queer Research in Higher Education: The State and
Status of the Field. Educational Researcher Vol 39 No.2 pp 132—141

When I read this article, it exploded off the page and spoke to me in several ways. It

made me reflect on how much my personal paradigms changed as regards to the rights

of disabled people.

The main point of this article is that although LGBTQ college/university students have

come a long way in working towards general tolerance and acceptance by mainstream

academic society, they are still fighting for greater use of LGBTQ epistemologies in post

secondary institutions. The author argues that if LGBTQ theoretical understandings and

methodological approaches were adopted by educators and professors alike, then there

would be a deeper understanding of Queer issues in society.

In other words, these institutions like universities and colleges, have developed and

adopted wonderful flowery statements of inclusivity but in reality, they are just hollow

words lacking in any real authentic strategies and procedures for change. As Renn

(2012) states, “In short colleges and universities have evolved to tolerate the generation

of queer theory from within but have stalwartly resisted the queering of higher education

itself.” LGBTQ students are still fighting to change societies constructed views of who

they are and what they stand for.

As a neurodiverse person, I find myself in the same situation as described by the author

of this article in trying to establish a self directed identity. I am often in conflict with

administrators and managers who have decided that because I am learning disabled, I
must be mentally retarded and incompetent. In the eyes of one administrator, I feel like I

am so far down the food chain that I don’t even meet the basic standards of a human

being, as he won’t even acknowledge the receipt of emails from me. These individuals

use words like inclusive and team members and family, but in reality, they are just

hollow words with no meaning attached to them.

My original goal when I started this program was simply to discover more about my

learning disability and maybe find a way of helping students to understand their

disabilities. As a result of this program, my personal paradigms have changed in

regards to the rights for equality and acceptance of neurodiverse people. What has

become clear is that a pre-existing identity has been constructed for us by the dominant

non-neurodiverse society, which I find extremely repressive to disabled people’s

identities. Renn (2012) argues that Queer theory is a vitally important to opening doors

of acceptance of LGBTQ students in post secondary institutions. The realization of the

existence of this “socially constructed identity” for disabled people has led me to the

Critical Disability Theory and the need to fight against the dominant culture.

I was not like this before I started this journey and am amazed at the changes that have

occurred in me. I have taken a great many courses over the last two years and have

been exposed to new ideas and new methods to educating children with learning

disabilities. I have met a lot of new people along this route who have challenged my

traditional ideas on education and at the same time have helped shape new

epistemologies in me. I am very thankful for this opportunity here at UBC and am happy

to have taken this journey.