The pandemic initiated a broad cultural shift towards opportunities for online work and social gathering. This shift responded to long-time demands from disabled people for more remote access, but did not contribute to histories of disability activism and community care. Drawing on recent scholarship in critical access studies, which suggests that we should bring a critical lens to the aims of access and that access always has the potential to make a critical intervention, we argue that hybrid/remote practices are necessary to facilitating access and social participation but could more directly contribute to the aims of disability and social justice movements. As practitioners who are broadly focused on higher education and participatory research, we understand remote access—across the contexts of work, activism, and leisure—to be a foundational practice for learning, life, and work, yet one that demands a critical perspective and an awareness of its connection to disability community. As such, our presentation will be structured as a conversation in which we reflect on our distinct contexts and practices, and describe the ways we enact critical access in our hybrid work, teaching, and research. Positioned from our three distinct but related areas of practice—classroom pedagogy, program facilitation, and community engagement—we discuss the potential and politics of including hybrid/remote components in these domains. We also share our experiences of the “access frictions” that can emerge from such approaches, investigating the ways such frictions can reinforce or exacerbate inequalities and social and economic injustices for disabled people.
Megan A. Johnson is a performance scholar, singer, arts administrator, and dramaturg. Megan holds a PhD in Theatre & Performance Studies from York University and is currently a Research Associate with Re•Vision: The Centre for Art and Social Justice at the University of Guelph. Her research centers on disability art and performance, critical access studies, infrastructural politics, public and cultural policy, and environmental studies.
Eliza Chandler is an Associate Professor in the School of Disability Studies at Toronto Metropolitan University where she teaches and researches in the areas of disability arts, critical access studies, and social movements. She leads a research program focused on disability arts and crip cultural practices. Chandler is also a practicing curator.
Jodie Salter, PhD, is a Writing Specialist on the Learning and Curriculum Support Team at the University of Guelph. For almost two decades, she has taught writing and communications and supported faculty, staff, and graduate students with all genres of academic writing and project management. Jodie is also a Research Associate III with Re•Vision: The Centre for Art and Social Justice.