Silent struggles hide,
Beneath smiles, unseen battles,
Strength in shadows thrives.

Mind’s storm, silent cries,
Healing paths through shadows tread,
Hope’s light softly shines.


We live in an increasingly alienated and alienating world where we put ourselves at safety from prying eyes or intrusive questions. Most often than not, we consciously choose to get lost in a vertiginous maze, the routine of what we call life and we get entrapped in im-personal stories of ourselves that we choose to mediate on social media channels, rarely ever minding the other.
We grow to think that our normality is the other’s normality; we expect to share similar stories and feelings, when, in fact, little do we know about the strife or personal struggles some people, other people, have to overcome every day, and little do we guess about their ab-normality until they become in-visible to the whole world.
Do we consciously throw them behind this curtain of opaque invisibility? Do we instinctively keep our eyes wide shut? Or do they willingly make themselves invisible by, strangely enough, placing themselves out in the open?
The Little Prince says that “it is only with the heart that one can see rightly: what is essential is invisible to the eye”. Does this mean that in our entitlement to compare our stories to their stories, in our set expectations to recognize the familiarity of our own projections, we fail to even notice the essential truth about their story or really hear a silent cry for help?
Disability is not a disease and yet, people with disabilities will often fail to feel at ease in their own shoes, feeling more dis-eased rather than dis-abled either by personal choice or by social behaviour. This is why, raising awareness about invisible disabilities is crucial for fostering understanding, empathy, and support within our communities.
Perhaps the greatest challenge for those with disabilities is not the fact that their shoes are too tight, but rather the lack of understanding or validation we, as the other, fail to show or give, forcing them, yet again, to live a life of skepticism and disbelief (neither of which belongs to them but to us), pushing them ever farther away behind the invisible curtain of isolation, frustration and reluctance to reach out ever again!
It is our belief that, living in the times that we do, raising awareness about invisible disabilities is essential for creating a more inclusive and supportive society on a small scale and world on a large scale! It is our belief that through education and by learning about the various types of invisible disabilities and their effects, we can develop a greater understanding and empathy for those who live a life of in-visibility.
Let this second edition of the INTERNATIONAL WORKSHOP on disability become an awareness campaign that will eventually help dispel myths and misconceptions about INVISIBLE DISABILITIES, reduce stigma and encourage more people to seek help. And let us all remember and learn of the talent, determination and unique perspectives of the people whose stories have enriched the world and served as inspiration to many.
In so doing, future participants are invited to announce their intention to take part in the event with presentations that explore the cultural and social multiplicity of invisible disability.
Possible papers and/or presentations associated with the topic may include, but are not limited to, the following:
sight impairment;
hearing impairment;
physical disabilities (limitations on a person’s physical functioning, mobility, dexterity or stamina);
mental disabilities (anxiety disorders, dissociative disorders, mood disorders, trauma and stressor-related disorders, neuro-developmental disorders, substance related and addictive disorder);
cognitive disabilities (intellectual disability; autism spectrum disorders; severe, persistent mental illness; brain injury; stroke; Alzheimer's disease and other dementias);
inclusion, dialogue and prospective change.
The ultimate aim of the WORKSHOP is to bring together academics and specialists in the field of disability, students and/ or parents whose children deal with some sort of disability so that awareness is raised, expectations become grounded in reality and social stereotyping is overcome.
As such, we invite papers related to the conference theme and particularly encourage graduate students and other early-career scholars to apply.
We welcome proposals for 20-minute presentations as well as 60-minute workshops/ panels in the following possible, non-restrictive areas of investigation.
British and Commonwealth Literature
American Literature
Universal Literatures
British Cultural Studies
Translation Studies
Discourse analysis
Semiotics
Stylistics
Film studies and other arts
Psychology
Psychiatry
Medicine
Abstract submission:
Please submit a 300-word abstract and a 100-word bio note as an attached Word document to: lidia.necula@ugal.ro
Kindly indicate if you plan to attend the conference in person or online.
Abstracts should include the following information:
- author(s) with affiliation(s)
- email address
- title and text of proposal
- five key words
- selected bibliography with 3-5 academic references
Panel/ Workshop Proposals
Panel proposals should consist of three papers that focus on the main theme of the conference. The panel organizer should invite participants and evaluate each paper in the panel, but the panel as a whole and its individual papers will also be reviewed by external evaluators. For a panel proposal, the panel organizers should submit a short overview statement of the panel theme (300-500 words), a list of participants, and the abstracts of their papers.
Important dates
Deadline for abstract submission: 30.10. 2024
Notification of acceptance: 30.10. 2024
All submissions are blind reviewed by the members of the Reading Committee.