Abstract
In 2022, soon after beginning my PhD, I received an ADHD diagnosis that illuminated decades of educational failure and struggle with norms of learning that I experienced as profoundly abnormal.
The academy (re)presented an instantly recognisable chasm between legitimate and illegitimate ways of knowing, where precipitous falls had inflicted disabling epistemic traumas on a bright but troublesome kid. Once again, I wobbled on the edge.
The diagnosis gave me a counterweight however, allowing me to begin to refute internalised notions of cognitive disorder, to trust in creative practice, to follow the lead of anthropologist, Tim Ingold, who compared knowledge-making to wayfaring, to discarding cartesian maps.
My paper explores the validation of a cognitive framework and research methodology defined and necessitated by ADHD. I will discuss ways I am leaning-in, embracing chaos, dislocation, novelty, in a creative project that wanders critical landscapes, creating a phenomenological map using assemblages of fragmentary texts.
The academy (re)presented an instantly recognisable chasm between legitimate and illegitimate ways of knowing, where precipitous falls had inflicted disabling epistemic traumas on a bright but troublesome kid. Once again, I wobbled on the edge.
The diagnosis gave me a counterweight however, allowing me to begin to refute internalised notions of cognitive disorder, to trust in creative practice, to follow the lead of anthropologist, Tim Ingold, who compared knowledge-making to wayfaring, to discarding cartesian maps.
My paper explores the validation of a cognitive framework and research methodology defined and necessitated by ADHD. I will discuss ways I am leaning-in, embracing chaos, dislocation, novelty, in a creative project that wanders critical landscapes, creating a phenomenological map using assemblages of fragmentary texts.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Publication status | Unpublished - 8 Feb 2025 |
| Event | Baltic International Conference: Have Some Imagination: Towards a Manifesto for Arts Education - Baltic: Centre for Contemporary Art, Gateshead, United Kingdom Duration: 7 Feb 2025 → 8 Feb 2025 https://baltic.art/whats-on/zd-have-some-imagination-towards-a-manifesto-for-arts-education-2-day-conference/ |
Conference
| Conference | Baltic International Conference |
|---|---|
| Country/Territory | United Kingdom |
| City | Gateshead |
| Period | 7/02/25 → 8/02/25 |
| Internet address |
Equality, Diversity and Inclusion keywords
- Disability Equality
- Social Mobility
- Marginalisation
- Neuroinclusion
