Aly F
@alyfixit.bsky.social
Associate Editor, @the-polyphony.bsky.social
Reposted by Aly F
"Being in nature is about where your body is. Connecting is about how your attention behaves." Dr Yewande Okuleye, in our 'In Practice' series showcasing multi-modal creative engagement with the lived experience of chronic illness, disability and caregiving.
thepolyphony.org/2025/11/26/f...
thepolyphony.org/2025/11/26/f...
From Pandemic Stress to Nature Connection
A quiet practice of attention, belonging, and rest in urban parks from Yewande Okuleye.
thepolyphony.org
November 26, 2025 at 12:09 PM
"Being in nature is about where your body is. Connecting is about how your attention behaves." Dr Yewande Okuleye, in our 'In Practice' series showcasing multi-modal creative engagement with the lived experience of chronic illness, disability and caregiving.
thepolyphony.org/2025/11/26/f...
thepolyphony.org/2025/11/26/f...
Reposted by Aly F
"Rather than asking why specific communities are ‘hard to reach’, perhaps the real question is – have they simply been easier to ignore?"
Rianna Raymond-Williams discusses 'Unboxing', a creative elicitation tool she developed for her doctoral study.
thepolyphony.org/2025/10/17/e...
Rianna Raymond-Williams discusses 'Unboxing', a creative elicitation tool she developed for her doctoral study.
thepolyphony.org/2025/10/17/e...
A Creative Approach to Engaging Black Caribbean Women in Research
Rianna Raymond-Williams discusses ‘Unboxing’, a methodology taking reproductive health research to Black Caribbean women.
thepolyphony.org
October 17, 2025 at 11:31 AM
"Rather than asking why specific communities are ‘hard to reach’, perhaps the real question is – have they simply been easier to ignore?"
Rianna Raymond-Williams discusses 'Unboxing', a creative elicitation tool she developed for her doctoral study.
thepolyphony.org/2025/10/17/e...
Rianna Raymond-Williams discusses 'Unboxing', a creative elicitation tool she developed for her doctoral study.
thepolyphony.org/2025/10/17/e...
Thanks to everyone at and connected to @queercircle.bsky.social who's worked hard on this takeover. I've learned so much! The whole thing is now up on the site to view.
Meg-John Barker concludes our takeover on 'queer space' and creative health with @queercircle.bsky.social, highlighting the importance of 'staying with the trouble' and co-creating spaces that are *really* 'safe enough'.
thepolyphony.org/2025/09/23/c...
thepolyphony.org/2025/09/23/c...
On TenderQueer Research/Practice
Meg-John Barker reflects on how we might queer research cultures towards more tender and caring ways of working with ourselves, each other, and our communities.
thepolyphony.org
September 23, 2025 at 11:07 AM
Thanks to everyone at and connected to @queercircle.bsky.social who's worked hard on this takeover. I've learned so much! The whole thing is now up on the site to view.
Reposted by Aly F
Finding creative ways to reclaim, recentre, and create healthier outcomes for marginalised communities: on the penultimate day of our @queercircle.bsky.social takeover, Ellc looks at how vocal workshops can allow queer folk to more fully embody their voices.
thepolyphony.org/2025/09/22/q...
thepolyphony.org/2025/09/22/q...
Cultivating Queer Voices for Dis-Alienation
Ellc looks at how a series of vocal workshops at QUEERCIRCLE allowed queer folk to more fully embody their voices.
thepolyphony.org
September 22, 2025 at 11:16 AM
Finding creative ways to reclaim, recentre, and create healthier outcomes for marginalised communities: on the penultimate day of our @queercircle.bsky.social takeover, Ellc looks at how vocal workshops can allow queer folk to more fully embody their voices.
thepolyphony.org/2025/09/22/q...
thepolyphony.org/2025/09/22/q...
Reposted by Aly F
"What forms of care, collectivity and resistance might emerge if we treat institutions not as fixed authorities but as porous, reconfigurable and responsive?"
Phoebe Eustance on their artistic research w/QUEERCIRCLE and on Institutional Psychotherapy at La Borde.
thepolyphony.org/2025/09/19/c...
Phoebe Eustance on their artistic research w/QUEERCIRCLE and on Institutional Psychotherapy at La Borde.
thepolyphony.org/2025/09/19/c...
Can an Institution be Malleable?
Phoebe Eustance explores how institutions like QUEERCIRCLE can embrace ‘malleability’ as a radical practice.
thepolyphony.org
September 19, 2025 at 10:47 AM
"What forms of care, collectivity and resistance might emerge if we treat institutions not as fixed authorities but as porous, reconfigurable and responsive?"
Phoebe Eustance on their artistic research w/QUEERCIRCLE and on Institutional Psychotherapy at La Borde.
thepolyphony.org/2025/09/19/c...
Phoebe Eustance on their artistic research w/QUEERCIRCLE and on Institutional Psychotherapy at La Borde.
thepolyphony.org/2025/09/19/c...
Reposted by Aly F
In our @queercircle.bsky.social takeover, Anni Raw "reflects on the value and risks of unspoken identity assumptions... and the ongoing work of co-curating a different kind of creative space that is specifically hospitable and safe (enough) for LGBTQ+ communities."
thepolyphony.org/2025/09/18/q...
thepolyphony.org/2025/09/18/q...
What Else is Made Through Making?
Anni Raw reflects on the dynamic between trust and risk set up through crafting activities at QUEERCIRCLE.
thepolyphony.org
September 18, 2025 at 11:05 AM
In our @queercircle.bsky.social takeover, Anni Raw "reflects on the value and risks of unspoken identity assumptions... and the ongoing work of co-curating a different kind of creative space that is specifically hospitable and safe (enough) for LGBTQ+ communities."
thepolyphony.org/2025/09/18/q...
thepolyphony.org/2025/09/18/q...
Reposted by Aly F
"Many decisions about trans lives are made by people who are not trans... The aim of QUEERCIRCLE’s research commission was for trans young people to reclaim power to express what they need..."
Thank to Lu Wilson for Day 3 of our @queercircle.bsky.social takeover.
thepolyphony.org/2025/09/17/t...
Thank to Lu Wilson for Day 3 of our @queercircle.bsky.social takeover.
thepolyphony.org/2025/09/17/t...
Trans Time: Reclaiming the Trajectories of Our Lives
Lu Wilson reflects on research commissioned by QUEERCIRCLE in 2024 into best practice around trans youth work.
thepolyphony.org
September 17, 2025 at 11:04 AM
"Many decisions about trans lives are made by people who are not trans... The aim of QUEERCIRCLE’s research commission was for trans young people to reclaim power to express what they need..."
Thank to Lu Wilson for Day 3 of our @queercircle.bsky.social takeover.
thepolyphony.org/2025/09/17/t...
Thank to Lu Wilson for Day 3 of our @queercircle.bsky.social takeover.
thepolyphony.org/2025/09/17/t...
Reposted by Aly F
"Without anchoring in values, practice and accountability... ['safe space'] risks becoming a hollow signifier, more comfort than commitment."
Day 2 of the @queercircle.bsky.social takeover!
thepolyphony.org/2025/09/16/r...
Day 2 of the @queercircle.bsky.social takeover!
thepolyphony.org/2025/09/16/r...
Rethinking LGBTQ+ ‘Safe Spaces’ in Policy and Practice
PJ Annand and Lucy Wood ask: what does the term ‘safe space’ really mean, and how does this play out in the public health field?
thepolyphony.org
September 16, 2025 at 11:43 AM
"Without anchoring in values, practice and accountability... ['safe space'] risks becoming a hollow signifier, more comfort than commitment."
Day 2 of the @queercircle.bsky.social takeover!
thepolyphony.org/2025/09/16/r...
Day 2 of the @queercircle.bsky.social takeover!
thepolyphony.org/2025/09/16/r...
Reposted by Aly F
Excited to share the first post of a takeover from @queercircle.bsky.social on the concept of 'queer space' as a site of health creation. Thanks to Research and Health Lead Frances Williams for setting the scene.
thepolyphony.org/2025/09/15/q...
thepolyphony.org/2025/09/15/q...
Queering Creative Health
Frances Williams of QUEERCIRCLE makes the case for ‘queering’ the ongoing UK public policy agenda of ‘creative health’.
thepolyphony.org
September 15, 2025 at 11:21 AM
Excited to share the first post of a takeover from @queercircle.bsky.social on the concept of 'queer space' as a site of health creation. Thanks to Research and Health Lead Frances Williams for setting the scene.
thepolyphony.org/2025/09/15/q...
thepolyphony.org/2025/09/15/q...
Reposted by Aly F
"[N]avigating medical institutions in a second or third language, often under conditions shaped by trauma or displacement... medical English is... the language through which people must articulate pain, negotiate power, and, crucially, consent to treatment."
thepolyphony.org/2025/08/08/e...
thepolyphony.org/2025/08/08/e...
From Non-Place to Site of Care: ESOL Meets the Medical Humanities
Grace Cooke, Lorenzo Meira-Gobel and Rory Hankins ask: what might it mean to approach English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) teaching through the lens of the medical humanities?
thepolyphony.org
August 8, 2025 at 11:09 AM
"[N]avigating medical institutions in a second or third language, often under conditions shaped by trauma or displacement... medical English is... the language through which people must articulate pain, negotiate power, and, crucially, consent to treatment."
thepolyphony.org/2025/08/08/e...
thepolyphony.org/2025/08/08/e...
Reposted by Aly F
"itinerancy has become a way to craft an alternative to standardised work opportunities... largely engineered according to neurotypical models... which do not allow my neurodivergences to breathe within my professional identity." - @thewelcomehut.bsky.social
thepolyphony.org/2025/07/28/i...
thepolyphony.org/2025/07/28/i...
Itinerant Relationality and Neurodivergent Community Praxis: Exploring Vagabond Belongings
Christian Hanser describes relating via the traditional dwelling of the shepherd’s hut to spheres once inaccessible to him due to neuronormative standards in career development.
thepolyphony.org
July 28, 2025 at 11:28 AM
"itinerancy has become a way to craft an alternative to standardised work opportunities... largely engineered according to neurotypical models... which do not allow my neurodivergences to breathe within my professional identity." - @thewelcomehut.bsky.social
thepolyphony.org/2025/07/28/i...
thepolyphony.org/2025/07/28/i...
Reposted by Aly F
Artist Priyanka Paul unsettles care work as they illustratively and poetically reckon with the reality of children caretaking for their chronically ill parents.
thepolyphony.org?p=26475
thepolyphony.org?p=26475
Zine for Children Who Have Had to Become Caretakers
Artist Priyanka Paul unsettles care work as they illustratively and poetically reckon with the reality of children caretaking for their chronically ill parents.
thepolyphony.org
July 4, 2025 at 11:05 AM
Artist Priyanka Paul unsettles care work as they illustratively and poetically reckon with the reality of children caretaking for their chronically ill parents.
thepolyphony.org?p=26475
thepolyphony.org?p=26475
Reposted by Aly F
On Day 6 of the Critical Neurodiversity Studies takeover @tasha-tasha.bsky.social calls for literary scholars within Mad Studies & Neurodiversity Studies to engage with one another, exploring the possibilities of and justifications for a ‘Mad[]Neurodiverse’ literary analysis.
tinyurl.com/mr3dr8kc
tinyurl.com/mr3dr8kc
On Mad[]Neurodiverse Literary Possibilities
Critical Neurodiversity Studies takeover: Natasha Downs calls for literary scholars within Mad Studies and Neurodiversity Studies to engage with one another, exploring the possibilities of and just…
tinyurl.com
June 30, 2025 at 11:07 AM
On Day 6 of the Critical Neurodiversity Studies takeover @tasha-tasha.bsky.social calls for literary scholars within Mad Studies & Neurodiversity Studies to engage with one another, exploring the possibilities of and justifications for a ‘Mad[]Neurodiverse’ literary analysis.
tinyurl.com/mr3dr8kc
tinyurl.com/mr3dr8kc
Reposted by Aly F
"A critical view of neurodivergent 'compensatory strategies' [in communication] makes it possible to frame them as chameleonic survival abilities to celebrate, rather than bad mimicking of neurotypical abilities." - @marocchini.bsky.social
thepolyphony.org/2025/06/27/n...
thepolyphony.org/2025/06/27/n...
Neurodivergent Pragmatics: Does Neurodivergent Communication Exist?
Critical Neurodiversity Studies Conference Takeover: Eleonora Marocchini reflects on neurodivergent pragmatics: a new critical view of clinical pragmatics in cross-neurotype communication research …
thepolyphony.org
June 27, 2025 at 11:00 AM
"A critical view of neurodivergent 'compensatory strategies' [in communication] makes it possible to frame them as chameleonic survival abilities to celebrate, rather than bad mimicking of neurotypical abilities." - @marocchini.bsky.social
thepolyphony.org/2025/06/27/n...
thepolyphony.org/2025/06/27/n...
Reposted by Aly F
"There was a possibility of thinking of neuro-divergences, some idea... that one can diverge from the Western-rationality backed classification system of mental disorders": @protichichatterjee.bsky.social on neurodivergence beyond the DSM, via Anh Vo's work.
thepolyphony.org/2025/06/26/a...
thepolyphony.org/2025/06/26/a...
Alternate Neurodivergent Lives: Spectral Conversations with Anh Vo
Critical Neurodiversity Studies takeover: Protichi Chatterjee on neurodivergent epistemology beyond Western diagnostic frameworks, via Vietnamese choreographer Anh Vo.
thepolyphony.org
June 26, 2025 at 11:14 AM
"There was a possibility of thinking of neuro-divergences, some idea... that one can diverge from the Western-rationality backed classification system of mental disorders": @protichichatterjee.bsky.social on neurodivergence beyond the DSM, via Anh Vo's work.
thepolyphony.org/2025/06/26/a...
thepolyphony.org/2025/06/26/a...
Reposted by Aly F
Day 3 of the Critical Neurodiversity Studies takeover: "Who gets to neuroqueer consciously? Who gets to access the knowledge of neurodivergence and queerness?" - Ren, reflecting on training as a school counsellor at Apnishala Foundation’s Khoj School, Mumbai.
thepolyphony.org/2025/06/25/n...
thepolyphony.org/2025/06/25/n...
Neuroqueering in Mumbai’s M-East Ward
Critical Neurodiversity Studies Conference takeover: Ren reflects on their time as a trainee school counsellor, identifying the neuroqueering practices of gender non-conforming and neurodivergent c…
thepolyphony.org
June 25, 2025 at 11:06 AM
Day 3 of the Critical Neurodiversity Studies takeover: "Who gets to neuroqueer consciously? Who gets to access the knowledge of neurodivergence and queerness?" - Ren, reflecting on training as a school counsellor at Apnishala Foundation’s Khoj School, Mumbai.
thepolyphony.org/2025/06/25/n...
thepolyphony.org/2025/06/25/n...
Reposted by Aly F
"There are illuminating commonalities between prophets and neurodivergent people navigating neurocognitive/value dissonance with oppressive systems, unwilling/unable to tolerate falsehood and oppression". C Day and J Dunn in Critical Neurodiversity Studies takeover.
thepolyphony.org/2025/06/24/p...
thepolyphony.org/2025/06/24/p...
Prospects for Neurodivergent Liberation Theology
Theological ethicists Caleb Day and Jonathan Dunn track the emergence of neurodivergent liberation theologies as part of the Critical Neurodiversity Studies Conference takeover.
thepolyphony.org
June 24, 2025 at 11:56 AM
"There are illuminating commonalities between prophets and neurodivergent people navigating neurocognitive/value dissonance with oppressive systems, unwilling/unable to tolerate falsehood and oppression". C Day and J Dunn in Critical Neurodiversity Studies takeover.
thepolyphony.org/2025/06/24/p...
thepolyphony.org/2025/06/24/p...
Beyond excited to be working on this, as well as attending the conference online!
Welcome to the Critical Neurodiversity Studies Conference's takeover of the Polyphony site, from today until Tuesday next week. Here co-organiser @louisecreechan.bsky.social kicks us off by asking: 'What is critical neurodiversity studies'?
thepolyphony.org/2025/06/23/c...
thepolyphony.org/2025/06/23/c...
Welcome to the Critical Neurodiversity Studies Conference Takeover
What is ‘critical neurodiversity studies’? Louise Creechan introduces the conference aiming to answer this question, and its Polyphony takeover.
thepolyphony.org
June 23, 2025 at 11:14 AM
Beyond excited to be working on this, as well as attending the conference online!
Reposted by Aly F
In case you missed it!
Me, @louisecreechan.bsky.social and @danielpjones.bsky.social are co-editing this Special Issue of the open-access journal Neurodiversity. A huge choice of formats incl. but not limited to video, zines and poetry, as well as research articles and reviews. Check out below.
Me, @louisecreechan.bsky.social and @danielpjones.bsky.social are co-editing this Special Issue of the open-access journal Neurodiversity. A huge choice of formats incl. but not limited to video, zines and poetry, as well as research articles and reviews. Check out below.
📣🚨 CFP: Neurodiversity Special Issue: A Critical Turn in Neurodiversity Studies: Bridging the Arts, Humanities and the Social Sciences 📣🚨
📝Abstract deadline: 3 August 2025
✉️ Please share widely with arts, humanities and social science networks!
Full call: journals.sagepub.com/pb-assets/cm...
📝Abstract deadline: 3 August 2025
✉️ Please share widely with arts, humanities and social science networks!
Full call: journals.sagepub.com/pb-assets/cm...
journals.sagepub.com
May 23, 2025 at 2:30 PM
In case you missed it!
Me, @louisecreechan.bsky.social and @danielpjones.bsky.social are co-editing this Special Issue of the open-access journal Neurodiversity. A huge choice of formats incl. but not limited to video, zines and poetry, as well as research articles and reviews. Check out below.
Me, @louisecreechan.bsky.social and @danielpjones.bsky.social are co-editing this Special Issue of the open-access journal Neurodiversity. A huge choice of formats incl. but not limited to video, zines and poetry, as well as research articles and reviews. Check out below.
Love this. I still mask in public and it is def stigmatised. Most disabled people I know do not mask and many do not accommodate my masking. I am routinely excluded from social events because I think people find even being out with a masked person embarrassing/ difficult.
Élaina Gauthier-Mamaril and Daniel P Jones respond to a recent Polyphony essay exploring the access difficulties of wearing face-masks.
thepolyphony.org/2025/06/02/m...
thepolyphony.org/2025/06/02/m...
Being a masking crip killjoy
Élaina Gauthier-Mamaril and Daniel P Jones respond to a recent Polyphony essay exploring the access difficulties of wearing face-masks. Introduction In response to Phillips and Soorenian’s recent c…
thepolyphony.org
June 2, 2025 at 11:21 AM
Love this. I still mask in public and it is def stigmatised. Most disabled people I know do not mask and many do not accommodate my masking. I am routinely excluded from social events because I think people find even being out with a masked person embarrassing/ difficult.
I recently saw, and forgot to note, a Judith Butler quote about misconceptions around gender performativity. It included something about there being no pre-gendered subject; it not being the case that people get up in the am and decide what gender to perform. Can anyone point me to that quote? TIA!
June 2, 2025 at 8:33 AM
I recently saw, and forgot to note, a Judith Butler quote about misconceptions around gender performativity. It included something about there being no pre-gendered subject; it not being the case that people get up in the am and decide what gender to perform. Can anyone point me to that quote? TIA!
Reposted by Aly F
Please sign and share widely - Liverpool Hope is one of *the* centres for cultural Disability Studies research. This threat is a threat to the field itself and to its important commitment to challenging societal prejudices and advocating for social justice through cultural analysis.
For the morning crowd - please do sign and share. Every single one of my former #DisabilityStudies colleagues at Liverpool Hope is at risk of redundancy. This isn't just about individuals; it's a threat to the field itself.
Jill Pluquailec of Sheffield Hallam has organised an open letter laying out the impact on #DisabilityStudies as a field - please do share and sign [add a comment with your info]
May 22, 2025 at 11:06 AM
Please sign and share widely - Liverpool Hope is one of *the* centres for cultural Disability Studies research. This threat is a threat to the field itself and to its important commitment to challenging societal prejudices and advocating for social justice through cultural analysis.
Reposted by Aly F
Practice research from @arlenejackson.bsky.social: "Folklore has it that one who wears a wreath of bluebell heads will only speak the truth... my narrative... lands in reality to acknowledge that... Illness is not a comeuppance for slighting the natural world."
thepolyphony.org/2025/05/23/r...
thepolyphony.org/2025/05/23/r...
Refractions of a Relapse Through Ekphrasis
Arlene Jackson reflects on a photomontage created by the artist Ashley Cook, in light of her chronic illness relapse.
thepolyphony.org
May 23, 2025 at 3:17 PM
Practice research from @arlenejackson.bsky.social: "Folklore has it that one who wears a wreath of bluebell heads will only speak the truth... my narrative... lands in reality to acknowledge that... Illness is not a comeuppance for slighting the natural world."
thepolyphony.org/2025/05/23/r...
thepolyphony.org/2025/05/23/r...
Reposted by Aly F
Vinia Dakari and I have received amazing response to our call and have decided to extend the deadline until 21st May to allow more scholars and artists to contribute who are navigating heavy semester workload. Here’s the link: call-for-papers.sas.upenn.edu/cfp/2024/11/...
cfp | call for papers
call-for-papers.sas.upenn.edu
April 16, 2025 at 10:29 AM
Vinia Dakari and I have received amazing response to our call and have decided to extend the deadline until 21st May to allow more scholars and artists to contribute who are navigating heavy semester workload. Here’s the link: call-for-papers.sas.upenn.edu/cfp/2024/11/...