With an explicit focus on how power is enacted and what this produces in the everyday lives of chronically ill women living on B.C. disability income support (BC Benefits), this research is located at the contested juxtaposition of what I refer to as three fields of possibility; feminism, poststructuralism and critical disability studies. Each of these fields suggests methodological, empirical and interpretive readings that enable me to produce different knowledge, differently, about disabled women’s lives. Using verbatim narrative accounts from in-depth interviews focused on how each of four participants live their lives, take care of themselves, and make sense of and respond to the government policy and practices to which they are subject, reveals everyday, embodied practices of the self that constitute their subjectivities as disabled women. Together, these accounts along with critically interpretive reflections reveal/expose/make visible the lives of these women in response to exercises of power in ways that unseat, unsettle and disrupt taken-for-granted understandings of those who are disabled, female and poor. Along with explicating power relations in the lives of disabled women and what these produce, I also link these critically to their health, socio-economic well-being and citizenship, while creating a disruptive reading that destabilizes common-sense notions about disabled women securing B.C. provincial income support benefits. Thus my research purposes and those of my disability activism are melded as these intersect within the (often-contested) borders of poststructural and social justice terrain. Despite public claims by the B. C. government to foster the independence, participation in community and citizenship of disabled people in B.C., the intersection of government policy and practices and how they are read and taken up by the women, produce profound uncertainty in their lives, such that these women become uncertain subjects. Living poorly, they experience structural poverty, compromised well-being and “dis-citizenship” (Devlin & Pothier, 2006), all inconvenient facts reflecting a marked disjuncture between how government programs are publicly represented and their strategic effects. / Graduate

Through an intersectional feminist lens using Critical Discourse Analysis, this thesis investigates the representations of four prominent women, their embodiments and their sexualities in the lyrics of their songs.

As Richard Thomas writes, “there is nothing like Star Trek…Of all the universes of science fiction, the Star Trek universe is the most varied and extensive, and by all accounts the series is the most popular science fiction ever” (1). Ever growing (the latest Star Trek film will be released in Spring 2013) and embodied in hundreds of novels and slash fanfiction, decades of television and film, conventions, replicas, toys, and a complete Klingon language Star Trek is nothing short of a cultural phenomenon. As Harrison et al argue in Enterprise Zones: Critical Positions on Star Trek, the economic and cultural link embodied in the production of the Star Trek phenomena “more than anything else, perhaps, makes Star Trek a cultural production worth criticizing” (3). A utopian universe, Star Trek invites its audience to imagine a future of amicable human and alien life, often pictured without the ravages of racism, sexism, capitalism and poverty. However, beyond the pleasure of watching, I would ask what do the representations within Star Trek reveal about our popular culture? In essence, what are the values, meaning and beliefs about gender, race, sexuality and disability being communicated in the text? I will explore the ways that the Star Trek universe simultaneously encourages and discourages us from thinking about race, gender, sexuality and disability and their intersections. In other words, this work will examine the ways that representations of identity are challenged and reinforced by Star Trek: The Next Generation and Star Trek: Voyager. This work will situate Star Trek specifically within the science fiction genre and explore the importance of its utopian standpoint as a frame for representational politics. Following Inness, (1999), I argue that science fiction is particularly rich textual space to explore ideas of women and gender (104). As Sharona Ben-Tov suggests in The Artificial Paradise: Science Fiction and American Reality (1995) science fiction’s “position at a unique intersection of science and technology, mass media, popular culture, literature, and secular ritual” offers critical insight into social change (ctd. in Inness 104). I extend Inness and Ben-Tov here to assert that the ways in which science fiction’s rich and “synthetic language of metaphor” illustrate and re-envision contemporary gender roles also offers a re-imagination of assumptions regarding race, sexuality and disability (Inness 104). Extending current scholarship (Roberts 1999, Richards 1997, Gregory 2000, Bernardi 1998, Adare 2005, Greven 2009, Wagner and Lundeen 1998, Relke 2006, and Harrison et all 1996), I intend to break from traditions of dichotomous views of The Next Generation and Voyager as either essentially progressive or conservative. In this sense, I hope to complicate and question simplistic conclusions about Star Trek’s ideological centre. Moreover, as feminist media theorist Mia Consalvo notes, previous analyses of Star Trek have explored how the show constructs and comments on conceptions of gender and race as well as commenting on economic systems and political ideologies (2004). As such, my analysis intends to apply an intersectional approach as well as offer a ‘cripped’ (McRuer 2006) reading of Star Trek in order to provide a deeper understanding of how identities are represented both in science fiction and in popular culture. Both critical approaches – especially the emphasis on disability, sexuality and intersectional identities are largely ignored by past Trek readings. That is to say, while there is critical research on representations in Star Trek (Roberts 1999, Bernardi 1998) much of it is somewhat uni-dimensional in its analysis, focusing exclusively on gender or racialized representation and notably excluding dimensions of sexuality and ability. Moreover, as much of the writing on the Star Trek phenomena has focused on The Original Series (TOS) and The Next Generation this work will bring the same critical analysis to the Voyager series. To perform this research a feminist discourse analysis will be employed. While all seven seasons and 178 episodes of The Next Generation series as well as all seven seasons and 172 episodes of Voyager have been viewed particular episodes will be selected for their illustrative value.

Mémoire en recherche-création / Cette recherche-création s’articule autour de deux questions : - Selon le « circuit de la culture » (Du Gay et al. 1997), comment la survie dans le réel et la survie dans le fictionnel s’articulent-elles au handicap, et comment peuvent-elles être appréhendées comme un artefact culturel appartenant à l’imaginaire collectif cadrant le faisable et l’intelligible? - Plus spécifiquement, comment une méthodologie issue de la recherche-création, et des études critiques du handicap permettent-elles de « cripper » (Sandahl 2003; McRuer 2006; Kafer 2013) le concept de la survie dans un jeu vidéo post-apocalyptique, et ce afin de reconfigurer les sensibles (Rancière 2000)? La revue de littérature dresse le constat que la survie handicapée est un enjeu rarement traité; que mon travail se situe aux frontières de nombreuses recherches abordant la survie des handicapé-es en contexte de l’actuelle sixième extinction de masse, et de nombreuses créations sur la survie des handicapées en contexte post-apocalyptique. Le cadre théorique prend pour assises conceptuelles les études culturelles afin de penser au-delà de la distinction entre réel et fictionnel et de conceptions stéréotypées du handicap et des in/capacités; ainsi que dans le but de comprendre comment un artefact culturel est un aperçu de l’imaginaire collectif d’une culture. Il prend également pour assises les études critiques du handicap pour lier la notion de handicap avec des enjeux qui semblent de prime abord incompatibles -comme la survie-; pour être critique des futurs imaginés; et pour établir la catégorie du handicap comme politique. Les assises conceptuelles soulignent la nécessité de s’engager avec des théories pratiques ayant des effets sur le réel, en raison de l’urgence soulevées par les conditions de vie présentes et futures des personnes handicapées. De ce fait, la méthodologie de ce projet passe par un processus de recherche-création, qui dans le cas présent, permet de créer un mémoire écrit et un jeu vidéo desquels émergent des réflexions et des pratiques qui participent à reconfigurer les sensibles. / This research-creation explores two core questions : - Based on the « circuit of culture » (Du Gay et al. 1997), how do real survival and fictional survival relate to disability and how can they be understood as a cultural artefact belonging to the collective representations, framing the feasible and the intelligible? - More specifically, how does a methodology resulting from research-creation and critical disability studies enables to « crip » (Sandahl 2003; McRuer 2006; Kafer 2013) the concept of survival in a post-apocalyptic video game in order to reconfigure the sensible (Rancière 2000)? The literature review notes that the future survival of disabled people is an issue rarely discussed and that my research-creation is at the frontiers of numerous researches addressing disabled people’s survival during the actual sixth mass extinction, as well as of numerous creations on disabled people’s survival in a post-apocalyptic context. The theoretical framework takes the cultural studies as a conceptual foundation allowing to think beyond the distinction between a real and fictional world, beyond stereotypical ideas about disability and in/capacities, and with the goal of understanding how a cultural artefact is a glimpse in our collective representations. It also takes critical disability studies as a framework to link the notion of disability with issues whose seem incompatible, such as the notion of survival; to be critical of imagined futurities; and to establish disability as a political category. These conceptual foundations raise the need to engage with practical theories in order to have a real effect in the world, all the more so with the urgent needs of dealing with the present and future living conditions of disabled people. As a result, the methodology of this work involves research-creation, which allowed me to deploy a written dissertation and a video game from which has emerged reflections and practices that participate to reconfigure the sensible.

<p> The purpose of this study is to use close textual analysis, informed by the neurodiversity paradigm and critical disability theories, to explore the coverage of CA in an introductory public speaking collegiate textbook to see how the experience is depicted and what thematic narratives about dis/ability are included in its coverage. This research is required to comprehend the phenomena more holistically and aid communication educators in creating curricula attentive to the needs of the high CA student, embodying best practice for a diverse set of students.  Incorporating dis/ability perspectives into public speaking pedagogy signals an opportunity to advance interdisciplinary knowledge about CA, mental health, dis/ability, neurodiversity, and education accessibility at large. By analyzing literary representations of CA, this research furthers the goals of critical dis/ability studies by de-naturalizing ideas about the binaries in which “ableness”/“disability” and “normality”/abnormality, are typically read and related to “success”. The overarching goal of this project is to demonstrate that these rhetorical representations of communication/performance bound anxiety are not only relevant, but of central importance for contemporary discussions on dis/ability within education.</p>

Au cours des dernières années, l’automatisation des services et le développement des technologies de l’information ont mené à une multiplication des écrans tactiles dans les espaces urbains. Cette multiplication a contribué à l’émergence de nouveaux usages et pratiques situées. Par exemple, dans plusieurs villes, pour acheter un titre de transport ou encore emprunter un document à la bibliothèque de façon autonome, il faut passer par l’écran tactile. Par contre, pour les personnes avec un handicap, les bornes en libre-service avec écran tactile peuvent être un obstacle à l’accessibilité en rendant plus difficile l’utilisation de certains services. Ce projet de recherche se penche sur cette problématique afin d’explorer comment les personnes avec handicap arrivent à utiliser les écrans tactiles malgré les différents obstacles qu’ils rencontrent dans la ville de Montréal. Pour y arriver, ce mémoire a été construit en trois temps. Il comporte d’abord une revue de littérature afin de comprendre les différents enjeux liés aux thématiques du handicap et de l’accessibilité en mobilisant notamment le concept d’affordance. Ensuite, il présente, d’une part, le bricolage méthodologique ayant permis d’en savoir plus sur l’expérience vécue des participantes et participants à l’aide de données mixtes et d’autre part, les considérations éthiques ayant guidé l’élaboration du projet. Finalement, ce mémoire présente les données récoltées sur le terrain et discute des thématiques ayant émergé de l’analyse de ces données : le rapport qu’entretiennent les participantes et participants au temps, les diverses tactiques utilisées pour négocier l’usage des écrans tactiles, l’interdépendance de toutes les parties impliquées dans le fonctionnement d’un dispositif numérique et la façon dont les participantes et participants du projet sont apparus dans l’horizon des écrans tactiles qu’ils ont utilisés. / In recent years, the automation of services and the development of information technologies have led to a proliferation of touch screens in urban spaces. This proliferation has contributed to the emergence of new situated uses and practices. For example, in several cities, to buy a transport ticket or even borrow a document from the library independently, you have to go through the touch screen. On the other hand, for people with disabilities, self-service kiosks with touch screens can be an obstacle to accessibility by making it more difficult to use certain services. This research project focuses on this issue in order to explore how people with disabilities manage to use touch screens despite the various obstacles they encounter. To achieve this, this research paper was constructed in three stages. It first includes a literature review in order to understand the various issues related to the themes of disability and accessibility by mobilizing the concept of affordance. Then, it presents, on the one hand, the methodological bricolage that made it possible to learn more about the lived experience of the participants using mixed data and, on the other hand, the ethical considerations that guided the development. of the project. Finally, this thesis presents the data collected in the field and discusses the themes that emerged from the analysis of this data: the relationship that the participants have to time, the various tactics used to negotiate the use of touch screens, the interdependence of all the parties involved in the operation of a digital device and the way in which the participants of the project appeared in the horizon of the touch screens they used.