ILLREP: Representations of Illness and Disability in Literary and Cultural Texts

We study the representation and construction of various kinds of illness and disability in literary and cultural texts.

About the group

This research group is designed to create opportunities for discussion and collaboration related to the subject. We are particularly interested in connections between constructions of illness and disability and the cultural politics of gender, sexuality, class, race, ethnicity, and animality.

Although the group started in literary studies (through the Literature in English program in ILOS: Institute for Literature, Area Studies, and European Languages), it is also interdisciplinary, reaching out to scholars from fields such as

special needs education
science and technology studies
health sciences
medical humanities
media studies
cultural studies
sociology
anthropology
psychology
history

Cooperation

We are interested in developing collaborative projects and maintaining a supportive environment, including doctoral and master’s students, invited scholars and guests, and postdoctoral fellows through programs such as Marie Skłodowska-Curie Fellowships.

Discussion

Join us on Facebook to talk about illness and disability in movies, literature, and other cultural contexts.

Affiliated research projects

The Politics of Disability Identity
Resisting bodies: The politics and practices of the immune system (ResBod)
Biomedicalization Inside Out (BIO)
The Lifetimes of Epidemics in Europe and the Middle East

Completed research projects

Biopolitics of Disability, Illness, and Animality (BIODIAL)

Events

Beyond Illness and Literature: A Global Approach

Tuesday, 26 April, 2022, 10:15 – 12:00, 12^th floor, Niels Treschows hus

This event will feature presentations related to a book collection in development, Beyond Illness and Literature: A Global Approach, edited by Marta Puxan-Oliva and Jorge J. Locane.

Featured international guests will be Marta Puxan-Oliva (Senior Ramón y Cajal Researcher, Universitat de les Illes Balears) and Neus Rotger (Associate Professor of Comparative Literature at the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (UOC) and Guest Lecturer at the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona), along with Jorge Locane, who is co-editing the volume.

Presentations will be made by the editors, introducing the volume as a whole, followed by talks based upon chapters in development by the three guests mentioned above. Q&A to follow.

ILLREP Forum: The Biopolitics of Disability, Illness, and Animality

ILLREP has invited members of the research project BIODIAL (The Biopolitics of Disability, Illness, and Animality) to discuss their research findings on November 17, 2021, at the University of Oslo's HumSam library. Commentaries by ILLREP member Tone Druglitrø and visiting Erasmus PhD Fellow Chiara Montalti (University of Florence). Further details and program TBA.

Illness and Disability in Literary and Cultural Texts: An International Seminar

On June 17, 2019, the ILLREP research group will be hosting a one-day interdisciplinary seminar featuring multiple speakers from the University of Oslo and beyond. The keynote lecture will be delivered by Susan Schweik, Professor of English at UC Berkeley and author of works including The Ugly Laws: Disability in Public (2009). Further details can be found on the facebook event for the seminar.

International Symposium: Posthuman Entanglements

On May 15, 2018, the BIODIAL research project will be hosting a symposium entitled 'Posthuman Entanglements' at Litteraturhuset in Oslo. Cary Wolfe and Mel Y. Chen are among the confirmed speakers.