Introduction & Table of Contents
Sam Weiss is a white, queer, non-binary, disabled & chronically ill grad student at Georgetown University in Washington, DC. They grew up in rural Kansas and lived in Oregon for five years before moving to DC. Their academic interests are disability studies, queer studies, trans studies, accessible and equitable pedagogy, and learning design (hence, this project). Outside of school, they love baking, reading, hugging their friends & two cats, and dyeing their mohawk-mullet different colors. They miss the huge trees and cold beaches of Oregon desperately, and the wide, dark skies of Kansas a little bit less. They hope to one day teach students and learn how to preserve jams.
About This Project
This project explores the pedagogical and liberatory value of queer speculative disability narratives through the form of a public syllabus and community-collected archive. It is meant to be a living site of collective learning, growing, and healing. My hope is that this will serve as both a place of connection between queer disabled communities and a place of learning and advocacy for able-bodied/heterosexual communities, especially educators.
I have chosen queer speculative disability narratives because I believe strongly in the power of imagining futures or alternate realities that center marginalized communities. This idea is not my own, and I am indebted to the Black feminists that have long been advocating for and utilizing speculative narratives as liberatory spaces for Black communities. As a queer, disabled person, I have found these narratives to be a space for liberation and healing, but my goal of this project is not just personal. I hope to provide space for other queer disabled folks to find this. I also hope that this project can help to highlight and advocate for the work that Black trans and queer disabled folks are already doing to create liberatory futures. My approach to curating this syllabus is informed by anti-racist and equitable pedagogy, particularly the works of bell hooks and Paulo Friere. That being said, I understand that, as a white person, I undoubtedly have gaps in my knowledge and approach as a result of my privilege. I am actively educating myself about how to better understand and advocate for anti-racist and equitable spaces of learning, and I invite and encourage discussion around how to better incorporate and center anti-racism and Black trans and/or queer disability justice into this project.
I have divided the content of this syllabus/archive into units based on theme. Each of these categories holds annotated examples of source material that utilize speculative form to advocate for queer disabled futures and/or alternate realities. These sources explore and exhibit a variety of identity categories and experiences of queerness and disability. These are noted in the annotations, as well as the (publicly known) identity categories of the authors or creators of the material. There is also a further reading section that lists un-annotated additional source material. The community contribution section provides a space for community members to give feedback on source material, suggest new source material, and give any other input about the project. The responses are publicly recorded in a spreadsheet that is also linked in the "contribute here" section. There is a glossary that defines some of the terms that I use in this project. These definitions are meant only to explain how I am using these terms within the parameters of this project. They are not meant to encapsulate everyone's experiences or identities.
Thank you for taking time to check out this work. I hope that you find some value in it, and I invite any thoughts, feelings, ideas, etc. in the contribution page. Thank you for being a part of this moment of healing & learning.