14 November to 20 December is UK Disability History Month; a platform that illuminates the history of disabled people’s struggle for equality, inclusion and human rights.

The Centre for Disability Research at the University of Glasgow, supported by the Equality and Diversity Unit, is hosting a film screening in celebration of Disability History Month.

We will be showing Tom McCarthy’s 2003 BAFTA nominated 'The Station Agent', alongside a critical discussion with Dr Alison Wilde from the University of Northumbria.

The film follows the life of Fin McBride (Peter Dinklage - Games of Throne's Tyrion Lannister), a young man with restricted growth, who inherits a defunct train station in a small town in New Jersey. The film explores themes of stigma, isolation, belonging and disablism and the ‘complexities of integrating people with disabilities into the wider community’ (Clarke 2014).

Disability History Month 2024 theme focuses on the ways in which disabled people’s continued exclusion from employment, and barriers to employment shape the way that disabled people can live and how well they can live, their experiences of belonging and of being part of the communities in which they live. ‘The Station Agent’ explores the some of these key themes by examining the ways in which the main character negotiates everyday exclusion, community, belonging and disablism.

Dr Alison Wilde will be critically discussing the film along with Drs Nicola Burns and Phillippa Wiseman. Dr Alison Wilde is a Sociologist exploring cultural studies, contemporary culture and disability in everyday life. Her recent work has explored the ways in which disablement and impairment have been presented in TV shows such as BBC’s recent ‘We Might Regret This’ (2024) and viewing the 2023 blockbuster ‘Barbie’ through a disability lens (2023). 

Event timings:

Doors open at 5pm

5.30pm: Film Screening (1h 30mins)

7:00pm: Discussion and Q&A

7.45pm: Reception (food and drinks)

All UofG students and colleagues are welcome!