University Honoring International Day of Persons with Disabilities

To honor and celebrate International Day of Persons with Disabilities, Syracuse University and the Southeast ADA Center are holding a hybrid presentation, “Why No One Has To Be Normal Anymore,” from 7 to 8:30 p.m. today, Thursday, Dec. 1.

Stephen Kuusisto, the University Professor and Director of Interdisciplinary Programs and Outreach at the Burton Blatt Institute, will honor contemporary disability culture, delivering a presentation addressing the less-than-nuanced history of normalcy and how such a concept has been constructed from the Victorian era until modern times.

A panel discussion featuring University faculty, staff and students will follow, addressing the topic of disability arts and culture.

The talk will occur on campus in the Peter Graham Scholarly Commons in Bird Library, and online via Zoom. Registration is required. American Sign Language (ASL) interpretation and Communication Access Realtime Translation (CART) will be provided, and light refreshments will be served.

“If the history of disability teaches us anything, it’s that disability life stands for freedom and not oppression,” Kuusisto says.

This free event is sponsored by the Office of Interdisciplinary Programs and Outreach and the Southeast ADA Center in the Burton Blatt Institute, with the support of the Center on Disability and Inclusion, the Office of Academic Affairs, Atrocity Studies, the Disability Cultural Center, the Center for Disability Resources, the Office of Diversity and Inclusion and Syracuse University Libraries.

International Day of Persons with Disabilities was originally proclaimed in 1992 by the United Nations General Assembly to promote an understanding of disability issues around the globe while increasing awareness of how the inclusion of disabled people in every aspect of life benefits everyone.