Search Results (2)

Individuals’ understandings of autism vary significantly, with multiple factors influencing their conceptions of autism. Varying conceptions between teachers and students in inclusive school settings may lead to diminished educational experiences for both groups. Our research was focused on exploring the influences on teachers’ and autistic students’ conceptions or misconceptions of autism. We were also interested in whether more implicit influences, including the commodification of autism, influence teachers’ and autistic students’ conceptions of autism. To ensure the research respected the needs of the young autistic participants, the purposes and processes involved in the research design were presented to a group of autistic adults for feedback and recommendations. Therefore, this paper presents two distinct aspects of the research: the outcomes of engagement with autistic adults in the design phase of the research and the outcomes of engaging with the research participants, six teachers, and four autistic adolescents. The qualitative research involved semi-structured interviews and photo-elicitation responses. A key starting question encouraged the participants to share a feeling, memory, or image on hearing the word autism, and following an exploration of their responses, they were invited to select a photo from those presented that reminded them of an aspect of autism. The autistic adults contributed to the selection of the final twelve black-and-white images used in the photo-elicitation process. The adults were asked to select those they felt most closely represented their conceptions of autism. Of interest, only one photo was chosen in common by all research participants, but their explanations for choosing the image varied. Responses to other selected photos are also shared to highlight the varied conceptions of autism generated by the teachers and autistic students and the explicit and implicit influences on their conceptions. The influence of lived experiences and the commodification of autism were evident in the participants’ responses. Full article

In the aftermath of the Yugoslav wars, listening to Yugoslav popular music has often been seen as a choice charged with political meaning, as a symptom of Yugonostalgia and as a statement against the nationalistic discourses of the post-Yugoslav states. In this article, I will show how the seemingly neutral concept of love is embedded in the music and memory practices in the post-Yugoslav context. In dealing with the issue of love, I draw on the research regarding emotions as social, cultural, and performative categories. The research included the analysis of the interconnectedness of the discourses on love and the discourse on Yugoslavia (promoted by both the performers and the audience). In addition to the striking intertwinement of the two, the actual term love was quite often used when describing the general relation to Yugoslavia, or its music in particular, or the relation of the people from the former country. Pointing to the multifarious meanings and usages of the concept of love as understood in the post-Yugoslav music space, I will argue that Yugonostalgia can be understood as a kind of love. As such, Yugonostalgia can be used for commercial purposes and be a means for the commodification of feelings and memories. Full article