“Beyond Labels”: International Conferenceon Disability, Different Ability and Neurodiversity12-13 September 2026Birkbeck, University of London / Online

organised by

London Centre for Interdisciplinary Research

Disability, different ability and neurodiversity are concepts that traverse boundaries, challenging disciplines to rethink foundational assumptions about identity, culture and power. This interdisciplinary conference seeks to bring together scholars from different fields to critically examine the shifting narratives, representations and lived experiences surrounding ability and difference.

How have historical understandings of disability and neurodiversity influenced contemporary policies, identities and cultural practices? What roles do language, art and education play in constructing or dismantling barriers to inclusion? How can we critically analyse the labels, frameworks and narratives that have historically marginalised, medicalised, or pathologised difference — and how are these being reimagined today?
This conference invites contributions that interrogate the intersections of disability, different ability and neurodiversity from diverse disciplinary perspectives, encouraging critical reflection, theoretical engagement and creative exploration.

Suggested topics include, but are not limited to:

• Power structures, inclusion, and exclusion in societies; disability and neurodiversity across cultures; disability as a social construct.
• Representation in film, television and digital media; evolving narratives of empowerment and stigma.
• Disability in visual and performing arts; media portrayals and public perceptions; art as advocacy and resistance.
• Literary depictions of disability and neurodiversity; the politics of language and labelling; accessibility and linguistic justice.
• Language and terminology in relation to disability and neurodivergence.
• Historical trajectories of disability rights movements; philosophical debates about normativity, agency and autonomy.
• Medical vs social models of disability and neurodivergence.
• Mental health and neurodiversity.
• Lived experiences and identity formation; inclusive pedagogies; neurodiversity in educational spaces.
• Life skills and accessibility.
• The convergence of race, gender, class and sexuality with disability and neurodiversity.
• Innovations in assistive technologies; digital divides and equitable access in the 21st century.
• Human rights and social justice.