An Open Letter from the Disability Studies Community Regarding Proposed Redundancies at Liverpool Hope University^[a]

To the Leadership of Liverpool Hope University,

We, members of the international Disability Studies community, write to express our profound concern and unequivocal opposition to the proposed redundancies affecting colleagues in Disability Studies at Liverpool Hope University. These proposed cuts threaten not only individual livelihoods but also the integrity and future of a field that your institution has been instrumental in shaping.

Liverpool Hope University has long stood as a beacon in the realm of cultural disability studies. The courses taught by these colleagues attract students globally. The Centre for Culture and Disability Studies (CCDS) has been at the forefront of interdisciplinary research, challenging societal prejudices and advocating for social justice through cultural analysis.The academic contributions emanating from Liverpool Hope have not only enriched scholarly discourse but have also had tangible impacts on communities.

Moreover, the university's role in hosting and supporting the Journal of Literary and Cultural Disability Studies has positioned it as a central hub for scholarly dialogue in the field . The proposed redundancies jeopardise this legacy. Eliminating positions within Disability Studies would dismantle a program that has been pivotal in advancing understanding, inclusivity, and representation of disabled individuals in society. Such actions risk eroding decades of progress that have been instrumental in challenging and reshaping societal narratives around disability internationally.

We urge the university to reconsider these proposed cuts. Preserving and investing in Disability Studies is not merely an institutional concern but a societal imperative. Our colleagues' contributions to academia, policy, and community engagement are invaluable, and Liverpool Hope's leadership in this arena is irreplaceable.

With deep professional concern,

Professor David Abbott, University of Bristol

Dr. Chris Bailey, Senior Lecturer in Education, Sheffield Hallam University

Angharad Beckett, Professor of Political Sociology and Social Inclusion, University of Leeds

Rhi Belle, Recent graduate of the MA Disability Studies at Liverpool Hope University

Bronagh Byrne, Professor of Disability and Children’s Rights, Queen’s University Belfast

Dr Kristín Björnsdóttir, Professor of Disability Studies in Education, University of Iceland

Professor Mark Bould, UWE Bristol

Dr Tom Campbell, Associate Professor of Social Theory, University of Leeds

Dr Marie Caslin, Edge Hill University

Fiona Cheuk, PhD candidate in Social Justice Education at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, University of Toronto.

Dr Ria Cheyne, Liverpool John Moores University

Dr Rebecca Fish, Research Fellow at University of Lancashire

Dr. Kelly Fritsch, Associate Professor, Department of Sociology and Anthropology, Carleton University

Mike Gill, Professor, Disability Studies, Syracuse University

Efrat Gold, postdoc/visiting assistant professor, SUNY Buffalo Center for Disability Studies

Professor Dan Goodley, iHuman, University of Sheffield

Professor Sarah Marie Hall, Professor in Human Geography, University of Manchester, UK

Stephanie Hannam-Swain, Senior Lecturer at Sheffield Hallam University, Course Leader for Education with Autism, Disability and SEN

Dr. Nancy Hansen Professor/Director Disability Studies University of Manitoba

Dr Cassanra Hartblay, Associate Professor, Disability Studies and Health Humanities, Department of Health and Society, University of Toronto Scarborough

Dr Harvey Humphrey, Lecturer in Social Research Methods, University of Glasgow

Eunjung Kim, Associate Professor of Disability Studies and Women’s and Gender Studies, Syracuse University

Dr Kirsty Liddiard, Senior Research Fellow, School of Education, University of Sheffield (Former External Examiner for MA Disability Studies; BA (Hons) in Special Educational Needs and Disability Studies and BA (Hons) Disability Studies in Education)

Celine Llewellyn-Jones, Learning Designer, Coventry University

Professor Janice McLaughlin, Sociology Subject Area, Newcastle University

Robert McRuer, Professor of English, George Washington University

Rod Michalko, PhD, University of Toronto

Dr. Damian Milton, Senior Lecturer in Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities, University of Kent

Dr Hannah Morgan, Associate Professor of Social Policy and Disability Studies, University of Leeds.

Michael Orsini, Professor, Institute of Feminist and Gender Studies | School of Political Studies, University of Ottawa, Canada

Dr Sophie Phillips, iHuman, The University of Sheffield

Dr Jill Pluquailec, Senior Lecturer Sheffield Hallam University, & External Examiner for Liverpool Hope MA Disability Studies and BA Special Educational Needs & Disability Studies

Professor Katherine Runswick-Cole, The University of Sheffield

Dr David Ben Shannon, Lecturer, School of Education, University of Sheffield

Dr Tig Slater, Associate Professor of Queer Disability Studies and Education, Sheffield Hallam University

Dr Rebecca Smith, University of Greenwich

Tanya Titchkosky, Professor, Disability Studies, Social Justice Education, OISE of the University of Toronto.

Professor Hannah Thompson, Professor of French and Critical Disability Studies, Royal Holloway, University of London, UK

Dr Jonathan Vincent, Educational Research Department, Lancaster University

Dr Alison Wilde, Assistant Professor at Northumbria University

Dr Mel Harrison, Lecturer in English Studies, University of Exeter

Dr Vanessa Warne, Professor, English, Theatre, Film & Media, University of Manitoba.

Ellen Forget, PhD Candidate, University of Toronto

Dr Daniel P Jones, Research Associate, University of Sheffield

Dr Abs S Ashley, Lecturer in English, University of Bristol

Dr Lucinda Matthews-Jones, Lecturer in History and PI of the Disabled Researchers Network, Liverpool John Moores, UK.

Dr Lucy Burke, School of English, Cultures of Disability Research Group,  Manchester Metropolitan University

Dr Élaina Gauthier-Mamaril, Wellcome Anti-ableist Research Culture Award, ihuman, Social Research Institute, Department of Education, University of Sheffield

Dr. Eliza Chandler, Executive Director of the Office of Social Innovation and Associate Professor, School of Disability Studies, Toronto Metropolitan University

Calanthe Milton, PhD Candidate, University of Kent

Dr Emily Gathergood, Research Fellow, University of Nottingham

Dr Alan Jurgens, Associate Lecturer, University of Wollongong

Dr Saskia Papadakis, Postdoctoral Researcher, Royal Holloway, University of LondonWil Hardman, University Teacher, University of Liverpool

Professor Bethan Evans, University of Liverpool

Dr Emma Spruce, University of Liverpool

Marion Chottin, Researcher, philosophy, Cnrs/ENS de Lyon

Dr Dyi Dieuwertje Huijg, Leverhulme Early Career Fellow in Critical and Intersectional ADHD Studies, Roehampton University

Professor Kate M Bennett, University of Liverpool

Dr Louise Creechan, Wellcome Early Career Fellow, Institute for Medical Humanities, Durham University

Dr Beatriz Pichel, Associate Professor, De Montfort University

Dr Christopher A. Riddle, Distinguished Professor and Chair of Philosophy, Utica University

Dr. Tammy Berberi, Director of Research, Association on Higher Education and Disability; Retired faculty in French and Francophone Studies, University of Minnesota; Editorial Board for JLCDS 2007-2022

Dr Katherine Twomey, Lecturer, University of Manchester

Penelope Friday, Writer and Disability Activist

Professor Chrissie Rogers, Professor of Sociology, School of Social Sciences, University of Kent

Professor Nick Watson, Centre for Disability Research, School of Social and Political Sciences, University of Glasgow

Kyle Lewis Jordan, Archaeologist and Curator of Disability in Antiquity

Dr. Owen Barden. Assistant Professor in Intellectual Disability & Inclusion, Trinity College Dublin

Dr. Brenda Brueggemann, Professor, English, WGSS, and American Studies; Aetna Endowed Chair of Writing, University of Connecticut

Lucy Evans, PhD Candidate and (former) Student Disability Campaigner, University of Birmingham

Professor Stephen Macdonald, Professor of Criminology and Disability Studies, Durham University

Professor Eric Laurier, Chair in Geography and Interaction, The University of Edinburgh

Gesine Wegner, Research Associate and Lecturer at TU Dresden, Germany

Melanie Kennedy-Diver, PhD student, University of Liverpool

Dr David Paul Steenson, Senior Lecturer in Electronic and Electrical Engineering & Co-Chair of the Leeds Accessibility Staff Network

Dr Alex Tankard, Senior Lecturer in English Literature, University of Chester

Lewis Rothwell, Undergraduate (Education Studies with Special Educational Needs) and Postgraduate (Disability Studies) alumni. Also, (Former) Disabled Students Offer for Liverpool Hope University Student Union.

Add Dr Julie Van Vuuren, University of Liverpool

Dr Amy Redhead, lecturer at the University of Leeds, UK

Dr Antonios Ktenidis, Lecturer in the School of Education, University of Sheffield

Stephen Kuusisto

University Professor

Syracuse University

Dr Benjamin Bowman, Senior Lecturer and Department Disability Coordinator, Department of Sociology, Manchester Metropolitan University

Georgina Kleege

University of California, Berkeley

Pamela Block, Western University

Johanna Knebel, Postgraduate Researcher, University of Leeds

Professor Lucie Middlemiss, Leeds Sustainability Research Institute, University of Leeds

Dr Lucy Carolan, Independent ECR, Newcastle University alumna

Dr Madeleine DeWelles, alumna from Department of Social Justice Education, OISE, University of Toronto

Caleb Day, neurodivergent theological ethicist, doctoral researcher, Durham University

Ioana Cerasella Chis, University of Birmingham

Professor James J. Brittain, Professor of Sociology, Acadia University

Professor Gargi

Dr. Stephanie J. Cork, MIDA, University of Maryland, Collegr Park

Rebecca Yeo, University of Exeter

Harriet Clarke, Associate Professor, University of Birmingham

Jose Miguel ‘Miggy’ Esteban, PhD Candidate, Department of Social Justice Education, Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, University of Toronto

Dr. Margaret Oldfield

Disability Scholar

Lennard J. Davis, Distinguished Professor Emeritus, University of Illnois at Chicago.

Esther Planas Balduz, CRMEP Kingston University alumni

Christine Pash, Ph.D. Candidate, Stony Brook University, NY

Anne Finger, Instructor, Undergraduate Interdisciplinary Studies, University of California, Berkeley

Ellen shobrook, University of Birmingham and BUCU Branch President

Mathieu Bokestael, University College Dublin's Humanities Institute

Lucía Guerrero Rivière, PhD Student, Wellcome Centre for Cultures and Environments of Health, University of Exeter

Dr Tobias Atkinson, Associate Lecturer, Lancaster Medical School, Lancaster University

Bev Enion, PhD candidate, The University of Sheffield, and former graduate of MA Disability Studies and BA (Hons) Education and SEN at Liverpool Hope

Dr Clare Williams, Lecturer, Kent Law School, University of Kent

Dr Barbara Neukirchinger, Research Officer at the Institut für Digitale Teilhabe (IDT), Hochschule Bremen City University of Applied Sciences

Dr Kavana Ramaswamy, recent graduate, University of Cambridge

Dr Sarah Campbell, Department of Social Care and Social Work, Manchester Metropolitan University

Bernie Hollywood OBE JP

Dr. Nicole Lee Schroeder, Assistant Professor of History, Kean University (NJ, USA)

Margaret Price, Associate Professor, Department of English Director, Disability Studies Program, The Ohio State University

Dr Piotr Godzisz, Associate Professor in Criminology, University of Leicester

Katie Crosson, Postdoctoral Research Associate in the Dept of Drama, Comms & Film, University of Exeter

Cathrin Fischer, PhD Student, University of Exeter

Dr Lauren Doyle, Lecturer in Social Studies, University of Sunderland

Liz Tilley, Professor of Learning Disability Studies, The Open University

Gemma Lucas, Lecturer Human Geography, University of Exeter

Dr Bojana Daw Srdanovic, Research Fellow, University of Plymouth

Marion Quirici, Kennesaw State University

Dr. Ramona Schwartz-Johnston, National Louis University, Chicago, IL USA and independent researcher

Dr. Elaine Cagulada, Disability Studies, Department of Social Justice Education, University of Toronto

Dr. Angela Marie Smith, Director of Disability Studies, University of Utah

Dr Nikita Hayden, Research Associate, University of Sheffield

Dr Laura Seymour, Senior Lecturer in English and Wellcome Trust Career Development Fellow, University of Swansea

Dr Edmund Coleman-Fountain, University of York

Dr Dino Concepcion

Zoe Young, Former Disability Studies MA Student at Liverpool Hope University.

Cathy Lloyd, PA to Teresa Chambers, Disability Studies Post Graduate student at Liverpool Hope University

Kate Kaul, Assistant Professor, Critical Disability and Writing, York University (Toronto).

Dr Rich Moth, Senior Lecturer in Social Work, Manchester Metropolitan University