University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

Existing through dis-ease: Autoethnographic renderings of disability experiences.

Bhalla, Shivani

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https://hdl.handle.net/2142/125827

Description

Title
Existing through dis-ease: Autoethnographic renderings of disability experiences.
Author(s)
Bhalla, Shivani
Issue Date
2024-07-12
Director of Research (if dissertation) or Advisor (if thesis)
Travis, Sarah
Doctoral Committee Chair(s)
Travis, Sarah
Committee Member(s)
  • Lucero, Jorge
  • Nguyen, Mimi Thi
  • Adamson, Brynn C.
  • Wexler, Alice
Department of Study
Art & Design
Discipline
Art Education
Degree Granting Institution
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Degree Name
Ph.D.
Degree Level
Dissertation
Keyword(s)
  • Arts-Based Research
  • Autoethnography
  • Disability
  • Critical Disability Studies
  • Disability Identity
  • Narrative
Abstract
In this arts-based autoethnographic research, I am exploring my personal experiences of living with chronic illness and witnessing my family’s disability experiences through art-making and narrative writing. By looking at my disability experiences through a critical disability studies lens (CDS) and especially from Alison Kaefer's (2013) Political/Relational model of disability, which elaborates on how disability is "experienced in and through relationships" (p. 81), I am situating my experiences within the disability experiences of my family members and alluding to how my parent's and grandparent’s disability had a direct impact on me while growing up in India, hence making a connection between disability and intergenerational trauma. Besides, I am also contextualizing my disability experiences within the social-cultural notions around disability in India (Ghia, 2002; Parekh, 2008) and addressing how my disability identity intersects with other minoritized identities such as a woman of color, an immigrant, and a carer for my mother in hospice. Conducting this research from my position as an art educator, researcher, and artist helped me establish the epistemological significance of art making in understanding and sharing the complexity of disability experiences. Hence, through this research I establish the importance of experiential narratives in creating scholarly forms of knowledge within art educational settings.
Graduation Semester
2024-08
Type of Resource
Thesis
Handle URL
https://hdl.handle.net/2142/125827
Copyright and License Information
Copyright 2024 Shivani Bhalla

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