As universities rethink their approaches to student and faculty mental health, this volume showcases academics who openly and proudly embrace the identity of “Mad scholar.? In twenty-three essays—from contributors working in nearly a dozen disciplines and across three continents—Mad Scholars explores how neurodivergent scholars’ work and lived experiences are richer because of their difference, not in spite of it. In doing so, these essays both expose the deep-rooted ableism that undergirds traditional mental health interventions and envision a more rigorous, more inclusive, and more outward-facing future for scholarly community and engagement, within and outside traditional academia.
A long-awaited corrective by scholars accustomed to having their stories told for them, this collection draws on Mad perspectives at the intersection of various marginalized identities, boldly dreaming of a future where all students and educators can thrive. By offering concrete steps and strategies that radically reimagine the current academic landscape, Mad Scholars opens our eyes to much-needed innovations in research, pedagogy, and community, ones which promise to transform higher education and create vital paths for scholarly innovation.

MELANIE JONES is a freelance author and editor. She worked as editor of WHERE magazine for three years, and was a freelance dance writer for several years before that. She performed as a contemporary dancer for seven years and an actor for five. She holds a Masters degree in Dance from York University in Toronto and a Bachelor's degree in Dance from the University of Calgary.

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Shayda Kafai's profile page

Sav Schlauderaff's profile page

Shawna Guenther's profile page

Rebecca Eli Long's profile page

Jess L. Wilcox Cowing's profile page

Sydney F. Lewis' profile page

Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarsinha's profile page

Caché Owens' profile page

Sarah Cavar's profile page

Rua Williams' profile page

Kelan Koning's profile page

Liz Miller's profile page

Samuel Z. Shelton's profile page

Pau Abustan's profile page

A.-.M. McManaman's profile page

Jesse Rice-Evans' profile page

Andréa Stella's profile page

Sarah Smith's profile page

Grace Wedlake's profile page

Sarah Arvey Tov's profile page

Kimberly Fernandes' profile page

Diane R. Wiener's profile page

Holly Pearson's profile page

Mad Scholars critiques academic culture’s entrenched ableism and sanism and shows how difficult—still—it is to be recognized as having a positive, credible, valuable Mad subjectivity. The diverse voices in this book give us pathways for leading with care, both for ourselves and others. They reimagine academia. They tell us that our institutions can do better. This is a collection we need.

Elizabeth Brewer, Central Connecticut State University

We have lots of personal experience, and lots of scholarship, showing us how ableist academia is and has always been. But this collection instead reveals the power and potential of disabled academics, who are already reshaping and reimagining higher education. This power is reflected in the diverse methods and forms across these twenty-three chapters; this potential can be harnessed by readers like you.

Jay Dolmage, author of Disability Rhetoric