Harriet Martineau – Radical Activism

Abstract Harriet Martineau (1802-1876) was a unique figure in Victorian culture, who contributed to a wide range of intellectual and social debates of the period. She was a writer, sociologist, economist, feminist and disabled activist and abolitionist. As a historical figure she attracts cross-discipline interest for her varied and interesting life. It would be impossible to fit…

Swansea Association of Independent Living Presentation

When I was asked to present, I struggled to decide on what to present. As a PhD student my research has at times become my life, but as a disabled woman my identity has permeated into those studies and influenced them and my ability to engage with the university. Everyday ableism is something we all…

In/Visibility, Invalidism and Identity

This presentation was given on 04/10/2019 at the Royal Hospital for Neuro-Disability in London, as part of a Conference on Disability History and Heritage called, "Opening up the Archives"   When I was asked to present, I wasn’t too sure what to present, while my research is interesting, it still feels like it is in…

Epilepsy – 19th Century

Throughout history epilepsy has been associated with behavioural and personality disorders, however, it was only in the 19th century along with the rise of industrialisation and the push for standards across medical professionalism, that epilepsy began to be examined closer and the associations that linked epilepsy with mental illness were examined, studied and documented, for…

The Crippled Nutmeg Seller: Gendering Disabled Bodies (Part 3)

This piece uses a primary source about a disabled nutmeg seller as a launchpad to explore concepts of the worthy and unworthy poor in the 19th century. Part1, part 2 is Sensationalistic Voyeurism and part 3 is the Gendering of Disability Disability in the nineteenth century can be argued to have a gendered component. Indeed, the…