British historian and disability scholar Lauren Pikó joins Yves and Clare to discuss exploring archives through a disability lens, digitizing archives, and accessibility in institutional research. They touch on the challenges of studying abroad, personal connections with landscapes, cultural histories of places, and barriers faced by disabled researchers in academia.
Archives can be viewed through a disability lens, highlighting presence and absence.
Engaging with smaller archives can offer rich research experiences and challenge size superiority.
Institutions must prioritize accessibility and support for disabled researchers in academia.
Deep dives
Lauren Pico's Journey to Becoming a Researcher
Lauren Pico, a British historian based in Melbourne, shares her journey to becoming a researcher. She recalls her early interest in history, starting from a young age when she created books by copying sections of various reference texts. Her PhD research focused on Milton Keynes, a town near London known for being mocked, exploring cultural representations and the town's actual reality. Her outsider perspective as a disabled scholar provided unique insights into the social and cultural dynamics of the town.
Exploring Cultural Histories Through Archives
Lauren Pico delves into her research process, detailing the archives she used to write a cultural history of Milton Keynes. She initially immersed herself in cultural representations like novels, TV shows, and media history, eventually shifting to studying materials from the development corporations and council of Milton Keynes and Aylesbury. Despite working in small archives, the personal interactions she had with archivists facilitated a richer research experience, challenging the notion that physically larger archives are superior.
Disability Perspectives in Research and Academia
Discussing the impact of disability on the research experience, Lauren highlights the challenges and discrimination faced by disabled researchers in academia. She emphasizes the need for institutions to prioritize accessibility and support for diverse bodies. Disability fundamentally shapes the experience of research and scholarly work, influencing how individuals navigate academic settings and expectations.
Addressing Ableism and Advocacy in Academia
Examining the ableist structures within academia, Lauren discusses the systemic barriers that disabled researchers encounter, such as heavy workloads and productivity expectations. She calls for allies to advocate for meaningful changes, including reevaluating workload distribution, fostering inclusive attitudes towards digital resources, and recognizing the value of diverse perspectives in research. Lauren underscores the importance of dismantling ableist norms and creating more supportive environments for disabled scholars.
Navigating the Impact of COVID-19 on Accessibility
Reflecting on the shift to remote work during the COVID-19 pandemic, Lauren explores how the increased accessibility brought by the transition was often conditional and temporary. She critiques the normalization of overwork and ableist attitudes within academia, noting the challenges faced by disabled researchers in returning to pre-pandemic norms. Lauren emphasizes the need to resist the harmful practices and prioritize sustainable, inclusive approaches in research and academic environments.
Yves and Clare are joined by British historian and disability scholar Lauren Pikó, whose work explores the cultural histories of landscape. Lauren is the author of Milton Keynes in British Culture: Imagining England (2019). How does one look at archives and research through a disability lens? The group discusses the importance of presence and absence, digitising the archive, and accessibility of institutional and archival research.
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