Anthropology

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The Solution, Not the Problem: The Unseen Experiences of Living with Chronic Illness at Haverford College
(2024) Cohen-Shields, Maya; Hong, Emily
In this thesis, using photovoice methodology, I strive to better understand and find commonalities among the experiences of students with chronic illness, including myself, at Haverford College. With this greater understanding of the ways in which these students cope, function and succeed in a college space, I am able to understand how the ableist foundations of higher education impact students with chronic illnesses, and how their experiences can give insight into moving past those foundations. Through understanding disability models and the concepts of normalization and disability as a problem, I argue that those with chronic illnesses are still pushed into the idea of normalization and “compulsory able-bodiedness” but show by our lived experiences how we are pushing those boundaries and finding ways to still be able to succeed in these spaces. However, what is now needed is for colleges to look to students with chronic illnesses to understand how they can better shift the college’s policies and fundamental functioning to move beyond seeing disability as a problem to be fixed and more as people needing to be included and set up for success within the higher education system itself.