Narrating injustice: how do advocates resist harming testifiers?
Cost: $50 ($35 student concession)
Includes morning tea and lunch.
Sharing personal stories is a powerful part of advocacy work and effecting societal change. Sharing stories also raises ethical questions, particularly concerns related to testimonial injustice and hermeneutical injustice. In this workshop, Associate Professor Lorna Hallahan, who wrote ‘Disability in Australia – Shadows, struggles and successes’ (the Research Report for the Royal Commission into Violence, Abuse, Neglect and Exploitation of People with Disability), will lead an inquiry-based process to explore the use and abuse of personal studies in advocacy.
About the Workshop
What will attendees take away from the workshop?
Participants will leave with an invigorated sociological imagination with a renewed vision for how we bring marginalised people into community. The workshop will explore the paradoxes of advocacy: how efforts to improve life chances can sometimes risk distorting the image of those we seek to support. All of this is grounded in the practice of active hope.
What will the workshop look like?
This is a discussion-based experience, led by inquiry and provocation. Participants will engage in thoughtful dialogue and have space for final reflection. It’s interactive, reflective, and designed to challenge and inspire.
About the Facilitator
Dr Lorna Hallahan brings nearly 50 years of experience in disability and other social movements—both as a disabled person and as a social worker in practice and academia. Her lived experience and professional insight offer a rich foundation for this workshop. There’s a lot to share and even more to discover together.