Abstract
In this article, I pay particular attention to four concerns that have come to the fore in startling ways for people worldwide during the pandemic. These include building empathy and community through the struggle to manage the fear of death, acceptance of disappointment and frustration, recognition the importance of being in tune with one’s body, and living with chronic grief. Drawing on stories from my life as a teacher and as a person with a disability, I hope to provide readers with both a way to reflect on the ongoing existential and practical concerns raised by the pandemic, and to argue that now as much as ever, the voices and experiences of those living with disabilities matter.
Author Biography
Carol Rogers-Shaw, Ph. D.
Carol Rogers-Shaw, Ph. D., is an adjunct professor at the University of Dayton. She earned a doctorate in Lifelong Learning and Adult Education from Pennsylvania State University. She is the co-editor of Adult Learning, an international, peer-reviewed, adult education practice-oriented journal. Dr. Rogers-Shaw taught secondary school English for 30 years. Her experiences with learning disabled adolescents led her to concentrate on work that highlights the strengths of all learners. Dr. Rogers-Shaw’s research focuses on expanding educational inclusion for disabled adults, stigma and disability disclosure, identity development of learners with disabilities, transition to postsecondary education, and Universal Design for Learning.
Recommended Citation
Rogers-Shaw, C.
(2022).
Disabled Lives & Pandemic Lives: Stories of Human Precarity.
Occasional Paper Series,
(47).
DOI: https://doi.org/10.58295/2375-3668.1435
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