Joshua St Pierre, PhD

Area of Study / Keywords

Critical Disability Studies Dysfluency Studies Feminist Theory Contemporary Political Theory Communication Speed Ability

About

Joshua St. Pierre is Canada Research Chair (Tier 2) in Critical Disability Studies and Assistant Professor of Political Science at the University of Alberta. He holds a BA in Humanities (Briercrest College), an MA in Philosophy (University of Alberta), and a PhD in Philosophy (University of Alberta). He is a multidisciplinary researcher and an avid gardener.

Research

Dr. St. Pierre’s research seeks to make interventions on both theoretical and practical fronts. His work is part of the growing sub-field of Dysfluency Studies, and by opening up theoretical space within Critical Disability Studies for an analysis of communication that is informed by the perspectives of disabled communicators, he invites Critical Disability Studies to consider the political and ethical dimensions of communication breakdown. As our society becomes increasingly organized around the production of knowledge and information, the need for a critical analysis of communication ability and disability continues to grow.

As a pragmatic, his work seeks to conceptualize and generate resources for radically accessible and hospitable communicative practices. Working towards access for people with communication disabilities means reshaping the social norms and stigmas that keep people silent as well as the inflexible (ableist) pace of communication in everyday life. These accessible practices could inform, among other things, institutional reforms that are essential to academic accessibility.

Teaching

Dr. St. Pierre would welcome supervising honours and graduate students in the field of political theory, particularly those working on questions related to crip theory, critical disability studies, queer theory, feminist theory, communication, and dysfluency studies.

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