Today, disability is understood as a multidimensional phenomenon, specific construction, and multifaceted field of research that is researched internationally, comparatively and across disciplines. In Germany, Disability Studies is a relatively young field of research. In international and European countries, on the other hand, there is a longer, extremely diverse research tradition. For the first time in German-speaking countries, ALTER, the European Society for Disability Research, based in Paris, is organising its 8th Annual Conference 2019 at the University of Cologne.

The conference entitled, “Histories, Practices and Policies of Disability”, brings over 150 scientists together from 05 to 06 September to discuss international, comparative and transdisciplinary perspectives on disability. The two-day English-language event will be enriched by three keynote lectures by historian Prof. Susan Burch (Middlebury College, USA), cultural sociologist Prof. Michael Schillmeier (University of Exeter, UK) and political scientist Prof. Mark Priestley (University of Leeds, UK). The participants represent a broad spectrum of international research on disability in the cultural and social sciences. The conference will be hosted by Prof. Anne Waldschmidt (International Research Unit in Disability Studies – iDiS, University of Cologne) and Prof. Matthias Otten(TH Köln – University of Applied Sciences) in collaboration with Prof. Isabelle Ville (École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales – EHESS, Paris).

More information found at: https://alterconf2019.sciencesconf.org/