9. Cripping Time: Experiencing chronic illness in academia (with Prof. Bethan Evans)

Bodies @ Work

Guest: Professor Bethan Evans

My guest today is Bethan Evans, Professor of Urban Geography at the University of Liverpool. Bethan and her colleagues are doing really interesting research on the experiences of academics who are navigating working in academia whilst living with chronic health conditions.

In her paper titled "Being left behind beyond recovery: ‘crip time’ and chronic illness in neoliberal academia" and in her work on the Exhaustion Economy, Bethan and her colleagues argue that ‘crip time’ is a useful lens through which to frame the cognitive, psychological and emotional struggle of academics living with energy limiting conditions.

We talk in detail about the structural particularities of academic work and what makes it especially inhospitable to people living with chronic conditions. But we also discuss the way it's possible to adapt and find sustainable ways of working.

This is a timely conversation given the parlous state of DEI discourses in the world of work. So, I am grateful to have this opportunity for a more nuanced discussion about the importance of accommodating bodies of all kinds into the workplace.

References:

Evans, B., Allam, A., Bê, A., Hale, C., Rose, M., & Ruddock, A. (2024). Being left behind beyond recovery: ‘crip time’ and chronic illness in neoliberal academia. Social & Cultural Geography, 1–21. https://doi.org/10.1080/14649365.2024.2410262

https://exhaustioneconomy.uk/

Kafer, A. (2013). Feminist, queer, Crip. Indiana University Press.

Samuels, E. (2017). Six ways of looking at crip time. Disability Studies Quarterly, 37(3), Article 3. https://doi.org/10.18061/dsq.v37i3.5824