Author to give talk on history of disability in the U.S.

Kim E. Nielsen, professor of disability studies and history at the University of Toledo, will give a public lecture from 5 to 7 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 27 at the University of Wisconsin–Madison’s Helen C. White Hall, 600 N. Park St.

Titled “A Disability History of the U.S.; or What I Learned from Reading My Own Book,” Nielsen will talk about how concepts of disability have shaped the American experience in relation to immigration, establishing labor laws and justifying slavery and gender discrimination. Her work includes powerful stories spanning narratives of women being involuntarily sterilized to accounts of veterans returning with disabilities securing civil rights.

This event is fully accessible and features Real Time Captioning.

Nielsen’s visit is made possible by the support of UW Disability Studies, the Department of Gender and Women’s Studies, the Department of History, the McBurney Disability Resource Center, the Mellon Interdisciplinary Workshop in the Humanities and the Anonymous Fund.