This guaranteed panel brings the multitude of disabled characters in Dostoevsky's work -- including those with physical dis/abilities, chronic illnesses, emotional-cognitive differences, or the deaf, blind, or non-verbal -- into conversation with the growing fields of Disability Studies and Critical Medical Humanities within Slavic Studies. In light of the Presidential Theme of Visibility, we urge scholars to go beyond abstraction and metaphor, examining the political positions, socio-economic worldviews, and existential stakes that shaped how disability and the disabled were framed in Dostoevsky's oeuvre.
 Potential topics include, but are not limited to: - Disability and identity (personal selfhood, social role, etc.) in Dostoevsky- Tensions between socio-political, medical, and religious constructions of disability- The relationship between body, mind, and soul in Dostoevsky's depiction of disability- The relationship between disability and sexuality- Gendered disability or feminist approaches to disability- Disability and nationality or ethnicity- The performance of disability in Dostoevsky- Disability, deviance, and sin- Addiction through a critical disability lens- The traumatized, ageing, or chronically ill body- How disability is taken up in adaptations of Dostoevsky's works Please submit a brief bio and 250-300 word abstract by March 18, 2024 to Melanie Jones at mvjones@bard.edu.