Paper short abstract:

Building on the ideas of interdependent Crip methodology, this multi-modal paper shows how the coproduction of a science-fiction film by a filmmaker with mild intellectual disabilities and a PhD researcher in medical anthropology opened up a space where different kinds of knowing could flourish.

Paper long abstract:

Collaborative approaches have become increasingly emphasized within both anthropology and disability studies. Following the premise of “nothing about us, without us”, participatory, or inclusive, approaches strive to put the voices and experiential expertise of participants with mild intellectual disabilities (MID) at the center of research activities. At the same time, academic standards of what it means to produce knowledge remain to cause trouble in the practice of collaborative disability research. Considering the intellectual and discursive nature of research practices, demands of competency and skill inherently exclude possibilities of collaboration with people with MID. Thinking about how to solve this tension, this paper centers around the question of how to collaborate with people with MID in a way that centers around their ideas, skills, dreams, fantasies and ways of knowing. Building on the ideas of interdependent Crip methodology, this multi-modal paper shows how this is done through the coproduction of a science-fiction film by an artist and aspiring filmmaker with MID and a PhD researcher in medical anthropology. In doing so, this paper aims to reflect on our creative and collaborative process to show how science-fiction can create a space where different kinds of knowing can flourish.