Inquiry

Public assemblies are laden with unspoken norms: where to sit or stand, when to speak or be quiet, how to react or respond, what is expected or allowed. But where do the social contracts we’ve inherited come from, and do they serve us? As activists, scholars, and artists reappraise the many facets of neurodivergence and disability—as well as the deep roots of our social norms—they create new conditions for gathering. In doing so, they grapple with the inherent difficulty of balancing divergent needs and expectations. In reconsidering how we gather, we might ask: How can we better support layered and divergent needs? How can our forms of assembly be redirected toward different goals or priorities?