Paper Short Abstract:

Unwriting ableism at the center of disability folkloristics research. Here I will tell the story of my search for methods that engage with archived folklore and brings together disability studies and folkloristics and show how combining methodologies, embodiment and emotion has created a toolkit for researching narratives of disability understandings in disability folklore.

Paper Abstract:

When doing disability folkloristics, it is important to be aware of different understandings of disability through time and place, as well as the ableism that is embedded in many research traditions. Unwriting ableism is perhaps not always the main goal of disability folkloristics, but it is at the core of our undertaking as we are constantly reminded of the power dynamics that define disability as we ascertain and showcase disability narratives, both folkloric and academic.

My search for methods that engage with archived folklore and brings together disability studies and folkloristics led me to interesting experiments. I want to retrace my steps and show how combining methodologies, embodiment and emotion has created a toolkit for researching narratives of disability understanding in folklore. From standpoint-theory to Mertens transformative research and using Garland-Thomson's staring as a method, I have gone from reading archived legends with an open mind to actively working and writing with a disabled supernatural being. I have come across and asked ethical questions of how we can work respectfully with derogative legends of real disabled people. I have used my own embodied experiences of disability to deepen the understanding of disability folklore. And finally, I have brought the personal, political and partial to the forefront to become an academic activist. What is emerging is a method-toolkit that is mindful of the pits of ableism in language and academia and embraces the personal influence of the researcher.