SUSAN GABEL

Dr. Susan L. Gabel was a public school special education teacher in the United States for 15 years. Since then, Dr. Gabel has been a professor of inclusive education. She currently teaches at Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan. Dr. Gabel’s research looks at the ways in which institutions are sites of exclusion of difference, particularly disability-as-difference. She studies the way disability is created by ableism. More recently, Dr. Gabel has examined her mothering experience raising now-adult children with significant multiple disabilities who need round-the-clock care and support. In her work with practitioners, Dr. Gabel weaves together her experiences as a teacher and mother with her theoretical work in disability studies to create narratives that inspire, irritate, and educate.

Keynote: Opening the circle of belonging
Last year at the Summit I talked about the circle of belonging. I explored the spatiality of belonging; that it is not fixed to a specific location. Instead, belonging is produced by the social relationships that maneuver across space and time. This year I continue to think about belonging by opening up the circle of belonging. Instead of the closed circle I talked about last year, I want to investigate how educators can create an open circle of belonging, make a commitment to the ethics of open circles, and understand the relationships between circles and the curriculum students experience in school. Creating an open circle of belonging can be a whole school commitment that involves recognizing or seeing potential open circle members while simultaneously avoiding the problem of speaking for others.