Seminar about the book Clashing Vulnerabilities: Disability and Conflict by Simo Vehmas, professor of special education at Stockholm University, 2024–2025 fellow at the Paris IAS, with Don Kulick Distinguished University Professor of Anthropology at Uppsala University, fellow for one-month in writing residency of May 2026 at the Paris IAS.

Presentation

How might we think about vulnerability by looking at cases where different kinds of vulnerabilities clash?

Welcome to a discussion about the role conflicts and clashes play in comprehending “vulnerability”. How do clashes influence what can count as a vulnerability? And what kinds of vulnerabilities matter more than others? Why?

Program

• ⁠Welcome and introduction (Don Kulick & Simo Vehmas);
• ⁠Rights vs. wrong: debates about sex and disability (Don Kulick, Uppsala University & Hong Kong University);
• French teachers vs. disabled students (Cristina Popescu, CEMS-EHESS & Bielefeld University);
• Inherent vs. contingent vulnerabilities (Simo Vehmas, Stockholm University);
• Discussion (Marie Assaf, Sciences Po Paris).

Practical details

Free event open to the public at the École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales-(EHESS), 54 Boulevard Raspail, 75006 Paris, Room AS1_23.