NEURODIVERSITIES SYMPOSIUM

The term “neurodiversity,” first popularized by the autism community, challenges the pathologization of neurological deviation from socially constructed notions of “neurotypicality.” Another branch of “neurodiversity” discourse challenges the abstraction of the ideas of “mind” and “mental” states, using tools of empirical neuroscience to dismantle binary divides between “brainhood” and “embodiment.” Psychiatry now grapples with the implicit Western cultural “typicality” embedded in medical frameworks. In the humanities, the study and teaching of literature and the arts is experiencing revitalization through interrogation of traditional conceptions of cognition and consciousness, along with humanistic exploration of questions raised by neuroscientific experimentation. Through Friday keynotes, panels, an evening film screening and Saturday interactive workshops, we invite participants to engage with five central areas of concern.

Co-Sponsors: FHI Humanities Futures; DIBS/FHI Neurohumanities Research Group; UNC Institute for Arts & Humanities & HHIVE