War & Disability | Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Iran and Ukraine
As the wars in Ukraine and Iran continue to unfold, what can we learn from the experience and perspective of those with disability who are navigating the conflicts?
The Davis Humanities Institute (DHI) is pleased to bring together leading scholars of war and disability, Professors Sarah Phillips and Sona Kazemi, for a public conversation on two of the world’s most significant, ongoing conflict zones.
This conversation continues the DHI’s event series spotlighting interdisciplinary research on disability. The discussion will be moderated by the DHI’s Faculty Director, Professor Jenny Kaminer, and will be followed by a complimentary reception. Everyone welcome. Registration required.
Featured speakers
Sona Kazemi is an Assistant Professor in the department of Race, Gender, and Sexuality Studies at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse. Her first monograph, “Disabling Relations: Wounded Bodyminds & Transnational Praxis”, was published by Temple University Press in December 2025. She is currently working on her second monograph, tentatively titled “Transnational Psychiatric and Prison Abolition: Disablement, Resistance, and Collective Care in Prison” and two edited anthologies, one of which is under contract with Canadian Scholars Press. She serves as the associate editor for the Global Ideas' Section at Review of Disability Studies, an International Journal.
Sarah D. Phillips is Professor of anthropology at Indiana University Bloomington. She has researched disability, gender, and social movements in Ukraine since 2002. Her current research focuses on the experiences of Ukrainian forced migrants with disabilities who fled Ukraine for EU countries after Russia’s full-scale invasion. Relevant publications include “The COVID-19 pandemic, the media, and disability expertise in Ukraine,” Centaurus (2026), “Dislocated Biology and Curative Violence in Russia’s War on Ukraine,” Medical Anthropology Quarterly—Critical Care (2024), and the monograph Disability and Mobile Citizenship in Postsocialist Ukraine (2010). At IUB, Phillips teaches courses on medical anthropology and the social science of care.
Event Details
Doors open at 4:30pm, event starts at 4:45pm
Professors Phillips, Kazemi, and Kaminer's dialogue will be followed by a Q&A
A complimentary reception will conclude the evening
The event is free and open to the public, but registration is required.
The venue is ADA compliant