Kim Nielsen

“Would men but generously snap our chains, and be content with rational fellowship instead of slavish obedience, they would find us more observant daughters, more affectionate sisters, more faithful wives, more reasonable mothers– in a word, better citizens. We should them love them with true affection, because we should learn to respect ourselves.” (1792)  — A Vindication of the Rights of Woman

I have issues with authority. This summer my daughters declared me a totalitarian. While not totally true, as an oldest sibling of four I am happiest when in charge; and, if asked, my brothers would claim that I’m quite the bossy big sister.  At the same time, however, and like many of you (be honest, admit it) I also derive personal and intellectual pleasure from asking questions, interrogating the legitimacy of hierarchies, and problematizing authority. Indeed, my very existence as a female Ph.D. is an affront to historical hierarchies (“neener, neener,” Read the rest of this entry »

…. they’re all reading Tom Shea’s review of Beyond the Miracle Worker.

Call for Papers!

Although one of the common experiences of passing involves disability, scholars have devoted little attention to this important topic. Studies of passing have also paid insufficient attention to the interplay that occurs between disability, race, gender, sexuality, and class when people transgress and create identity boundaries. Blurring the Lines: Disability, Race, Gender and Passing in Modern America is an effort to correct these intellectual omissions and advance the study of this important topic. The editors of this forthcoming anthology seek proposals for scholarly articles on disability and passing. We especially seek proposals that analyze aspects of identity such as race, class, gender, and sexuality, in addition to disability.

The editors welcome submissions from all fields in the humanities and social sciences for this interdisciplinary collection. We expect the anthology to reflect Read the rest of this entry »

The friendship of Anne Sullivan Macy and Helen Keller was not very glamorous. It lacked the men and clothing of the “Sex and the City” women. It lacked the dramatic guns and suicidal road trips of Thelma and Louise. It wasn’t a fifty year slumber party of everlasting conversations, hugs, and secrets, and included no backstabbing cattiness and sexualized mud-fights. Somehow, however, the two women, remained friends—genuine friends—for nearly fifty years.

Having first written extensively on Helen Keller and now on Anne Sullivan Macy, I sometimes feel that I’ve lived two sides of the same story. Read the rest of this entry »

             I live with dead people—fortunately, dead people who co-exist relatively peacefully with the live beings who grace my household. Biographers tend to live with dead people in our lives, generally dead people we’ve never met, regardless of whether we admire, revile, enjoy, and/or are annoyed or puzzled by our historical subjects. In my case, the fellow residents of my household and daily life include Read the rest of this entry »

Wanna chat? Come join me for public readings of Beyond the Miracle Worker.

October 11, 12-1:30, Wisconsin Book Festival, Madison, Wisconsin – A Room of One’s Own Bookstore

June 18, 10:45 am, Society for Disability Studies, Tucson, Arizona

June 6, 12:30 pm, Printers Row Literary Festival, Chicago, University Center Loop Room, 525 S. State St, 3rd floor

May 28, 7 pm, Readers Loft Bookstore

I was so sick of Helen Keller. She’d begun to annoy me tremendously. After two previous books on the famous deaf-blind woman I swore I would never again write anything even remotely related to her. I’d had enough. I started a project far removed and told everyone in my professional circle about that far-removed project in order to commit myself to it.

Then I reread Anne Sullivan Macy’s 1916 letters to Helen Keller. Read the rest of this entry »

Looking for an introduction to disability studies? For a special education, read this special entry on SPECIAL, which I wrote for the wonderful, very special, new Encyclopedia of American Disability History (editor-in-chief, special Susan Burch). It’s so special.

Special is an important term and concept in disability history, particularly in the 20th and early 21st centuries. Dictionaries define special as the characterization of something noteworthy, distinct, or held with particular esteem. When used for and about disability and people with disabilities, however, special has taken on different meanings. Its changing historical meanings and applications reflect shifting Read the rest of this entry »