This class overall was a new experience for me in a very beneficial way. It felt like an appreciation for re-learning what space and language means in a multitude of different forms that also convey “new” ways (new to me) of representation for each. Throughout my journey I learned to reinforce certain ideas I previously had gaining more confidence in my critical-empathetic thinking skills, un-learn language that could be harmful and preventable through more thoughtful engagement, and challenge others around me to do the same with education. Something that I struggled with at times is integrating and separating my own background and schemas into these subjects. I was never a perfect ally to the disabled community but that was due to my own in-experience with the subject as a whole. I quickly found out there is a lot of overlap with certain language and thought processes when it comes to psychology and disability studies. However, I am not the first to point out that aspects of psychology have disregarded or otherwise disrespected the community in many ways.  

Language would be a huge addition to the intersect as well as differences with psychology and disability studies. Traditionally, I am not completely familiar with the neurobiology side of psychology nor is it my main interest. However, I do know some of the neurobiology that can follow different conditions of the mind. I even teach a peer support group on mental health and for one day we learn a small bit about biology. When we discuss how harmful the medical-biology focus can be with disability I immediately followed along. I’ve witnessed the inconsiderate take that doctors can have at times and the ill use of specific words/phrases when talking to a patient. What stuck out to me is it can be slightly different with mental health. As an aspiring therapist, I want my future patients to know that it can be empowering to learn about why they are reacting to things the way they are and how that works but strictly only if they desire to know. Education is empathy and it starts with learning about oneself. That is bound to look different for everyone so while some may want to learn, others will not and that is okay.  

I believe that key themes and specific ideas stuck with me throughout this quarter. The biggest one would have to be kairotic spaces. It was nice to immediately note that Andrew uses all of the teaching techniques that was included in the piece about how to make the classroom a kairotic space. I think it can be useful later in my life and therapy. Additionally, I think it would be interesting to read about how kairos/kairotic space works within different relationship dynamics too. Another big theme I enjoyed was learning about the intertwine between rhetorical analysis and disability studies. After learning about rhetoric last quarter, I was invested and seeing it applied to something social justice and community based kept me engaged.  

We continuously tried to define disability studies. At the beginning of the quarter, I wrote with not so much confidence that disability studies, “Interacts with the rhetorical through occupying spaces implicitly and explicitly. Like rhetoric, disability studies will always be changing and moving with/throughout the human body. It pays no mind to the physical form of the body or abilities because that is never a guaranteed constant.” Now, I would say with confidence that disability studies aims to challenge its audiences through an embodied rhetoric that cannot truly be captured or accurately placed into a definition. It changes and moves with rhetoric and adapts its abilities with engaged participants like kairotic space.