Call for Proposals: Narratives of persistence and survival: At the intersection of neurodivergence,
academic identity, and systemic ableist structures
Editors: Whitney Hardin & Julia E. Kiernan
Despite growing awareness of neurodiversity, faculty experiences with Attention Deficit
Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) remain critically underexplored in academic discourse
(Hoben & Hesson, 2021; Swick-Jemison, 2023). Neurodiversity in general is often
invisible at the faculty level—conversations about helping students with ADHD ignore the
reality that academics of all stripes also need institutional support. As Hoben & Hesson
(2021) explain, “the silence within both the policy and research contexts, is so
overwhelming that one might be forgiven for wondering if faculty with ADHD actually
exist” (p. 38). This is especially true for those who exist outside the dominant cultural
image of ADHD: white, cisgender, heterosexual men and boys. Women—of all
ages—remain underdiagnosed and underserved, and are much more likely to be
diagnosed later in life as well as high-masking. Similarly, although recent work has
explored the potentially high occurrence of ADHD among trans and nonbinary individuals
(Goetz & Adams, 2024; Yildirim, Perdahli Fis, Yazkan Akgul, & Ayaz, 2017), no research
exists that focuses on trans- and nonbinary academics. Meanwhile, the experiences of
men and boys continue to frame many of our conversations about who has ADHD, what it
looks like, how to identify it, and how to provide support for it.
Through examining the intersections of neurodivergence, academic identity, and systemic
ableist structures, this collection works to center the largely invisible lived experiences of
those members of academia who exist outside the dominant medical and popular
narratives of ADHD diagnosis. Diverse methodological approaches—including
autoethnography, personal narrative, and critical reflection—will illuminate the complex
ways ADHD manifests in academic environments. More than a scholarly intervention, this
collection seeks to offer visibility to peripheral neurodiverse experiences across the
academy: including but not limited to graduate students, tenure-track faculty, tenured
faculty, contract faculty, and administrators. This collection is not imagined as ahow-to-guide,
offering strategies for surviving and thriving in academic spaces (although
we welcome these contributions as well). Nor does it seek merely to challenge
institutional assumptions by making visible those whose experiences are often
overlooked. Contributors are encouraged to share narratives of success and triumph—to
showcase the many unique ways they have challenged adversity—reflective narratives
that examine struggle, failure, and defeat will also be showcased. Ultimately, we see this
collection as an opportunity for contributors to “claim critical agency” (Hoben & Hesson,
p. 41, 2021) and join us in working to raise awareness, build coalition-and-community,
and advocate. This work seems even more crucial at a time when, at least in the United
States, institutions that provide support for those living with disabilities such as ADHD
are being dismantled. It is more important than ever that we refuse to be silenced and
work to support ourselves, each other, and our students.
This edited collection invites contributions from scholars working across all disciplines
and fields of academia. Gendered experiences of ADHD (including LGBTQIA2S+) and
layered intersectional perspectives (socioeconomic class, age, ethnicity, race, religion,
etc.) are welcomed and encouraged. As editors we recognize it is “not easy to find a space
to write about our experiences in a public manner” (Hoben & Hesson, p. 45, 2021) and
that “learning to live with a classification of mental illness is a multifaceted learning
project,” which for many includes “working out the political calculus of disclosure”
(Brookfield, 2014, p. 25). Still, we encourage and invite proposed chapters that work
through, but are not limited to, the following topics:
- Experiences navigating the “political calculus of disclosure”
- Experiences requesting/receiving support at the institutional level
- Experiences with colleagues, administrators, and/or disability offices
- Experiences with students
- Examination of the friction points of a career/career trajectory that assumes
- neurotypicality
- Experiences with early diagnosis, late diagnosis, and/or self diagnosis
- How stereotypes about ADHD inform/misinform your own experiences
- How the choice to medicate or not medicate have shaped your career
- ADHD in and/or across different positions in academia
- Development of pedagogies or pedagogical resources through the lens of ADHD
- Mental health implications of ADHD/common comorbidities associated with ADHD
- The female body and ADHD (pregnancy, menopause, perimenopause,
- menstruation, etc.)
- Age in the context of ADHD
- Collaboration in the context of ADHD
- Academic contexts/situations that nourish the ADHD brain
- ADHD and managing service expectations
- Managing novelty vs burnout in the context of ADHD
- ADHD, faculty identity, and self-advocacy
- ADHD, faculty wellness, and enhanced mindfulness
- Imposter syndrome and self-doubt
- Resilience, grit, and/or courage
Deadline for Proposals: 500 word abstract and a 100 word bio are due 15 May 2025.
Send as email attachments (preferably MS Word) with the subject line “Narratives of
persistence and survival” to Whitney Hardin (hardinwn) and Julia Kiernan
(jkiernan). Inquiries are encouraged and welcome. Authors whose abstracts are
provisionally accepted for inclusion will be notified by mid-June 2025.
Proposals Due: May 15, 2025
Provisional Acceptance: June, 2025
Manuscripts Due: December 1, 2025
Projected Publication: 2026