24-26 June 2025, Durham University, UK and online
**Registration opening soon – watch this space!**
While traditional theory describes the world, critical theory seeks to radically transform it. Critical Neurodiversity Studies: Directions/Intersections/Contradictions seeks to harness the momentum of the new generation of neurodivergent scholar activists working collectively towards a critical turn in neurodiversity theory and research.
While the first wave of neurodiversity studies has begun to instigate a shift towards the emerging neurodiversity paradigm, it has nonetheless tended to focus on autism at the exclusion of the broader manifold of neurodivergence. Moreover, the institutional embrace of neurodiversity has heavily focused on the psy-disciplines rather than approaches grounded in the arts, humanities, and critical social theory.
At the same time, we have also seen the rise of neurodiversity-lite, where neoliberal institutions rebrand using neurodiversity paradigm vocabularies without making meaningful changes or commitments to neurodivergent liberation.
This major international conference seeks to help clarify critical neurodiversity studies as a departure from both first wave neurodiversity studies and especially the neurodiversity-lite paradigm. We understand this intervention as arising primarily through arts, humanities, and social sciences approaches, grounded in the various traditions of critical theory and aimed at liberatory praxis rather than knowledge production alone.
We will focus on scholarship that synthesises a concern for neurodivergent liberation with other critical traditions and liberation movements globally. For example, we are interested in neurodivergent-led materialist, decolonial, indigenous, Black, Marxian, queer, trans, mad, feminist, and related interventions that go beyond an essentialist identity and reformist-based approach to neurodiversity theory and praxis.
We recently sent out acceptances and rejections to those who had submitted abstracts to Critical Neurodiversity Studies: Directions/Intersections/Contradictions. The conference team have produced a statement in the interests of transparency regarding the selection process, which can be found here.
This event is part of the 2024/25 Critical Neurodiversity Studies takeover of the Measurement Lab of the Discovery Research Platform co-led by Louise Creechan and Robert Chapman. It is co-badged with the Neurodivergent Humanities Network.
Any queries about the conference can be sent to imh.events@durham.ac.uk.