Disability History Month 2024

Throughout the year, the York Historian runs writing competitions for students, which aim to uplift areas of history that are often neglected, and ones that align with seasonal themes. Prizes are awarded for the articles that the committee deems the most interesting, most creative and most well-written. There is no need for entrants to have a paid membership of the York Historian.

The current writing competition, focusing on Disability History, is taking place between Friday 1 November and Monday 30 December.

The article should meet the guidelines on the website:

• Your article should be 600-2000 words long
• Include four images, with one to be the article’s online thumbnail
• Be as creative as possible, as long as you focus on the theme

Submit your article by Monday 30 December by emailing it to yorkhistorian@yorksu.org.

There will be one winner, who will receive a £20 Waterstones voucher.

• Monday 2 December, 6.30pm to 7.30pm
• Online - free admission, booking required
• York Disability Week event

Ian Rice was diagnosed with primary progressive multiple sclerosis in his 40s and became a wheelchair user at the end of 2016.

Later, he took up photography as a hobby to help with wellbeing, especially after redundancy from a career in finance and energy.

This coping mechanism grew into his profession, taking commissions from the Royal Ballet to England Cricket, as well as acquiring a huge portfolio of wildlife photography which has taken him as far as conservation projects in Africa. 

This summer, as all eyes focussed on the Paralympics, Ian took his dream job on the courtsides and finish lines in venues across Paris to capture the biggest Para sporting event of the year for Agence France-Presse.

Join us as we hear from Ian about his Paralympic story and how he approaches his art creatively to capture some of the most iconic sporting images of the summer.

Book for Capturing the Paralympics

• Thursday 5 December, 6.30pm to 7.30pm
• Online - free admission, booking required
• York Disability Week event

The world came together this summer to enjoy the Paralympics in Paris. Audiences cheered on Para athletes competing at the biggest sporting event on the planet, demonstrating their speed, strength and endurance. As well as athletic prowess, the games showcased cutting-edge innovation in specialised assistive technology, such as computer-aided design for customised fits, and intuitive interfaces between body and machine, revolutionising the way Para athletes interact with their environments.

But is all this entirely new? Throughout time humans have designed and innovated to create assistive technology to support disabled people, not only for sport, but in their day-to-day lives. Join us to hear Jane Draycott talk about the fascinating and long history of prosthetics and assistive technology in classical antiquity. 

Jane will share her findings from literary, documentary, archaeological, and bioarchaeological evidence, painting us a picture of their importance for the lived experience of people with disabilities in classical antiquity.

Book for Prosthetics and assistive technology

• Wednesday 27 November, 4pm to 5pm
• Room DG016, York St John University - free, no booking required 

The Centre for Religion in Society (CRiS) is a forum for exploring the role of religion in culture, society and politics. Rev Tim Goode is Canon for Congregational Discipleship and Nurture at York Minster, and a member of the National Disability Task Group advising the Archbishops of Canterbury and York.

• Tuesday 3 December, 9am to 10am
• Room DG109, York St John University

The theme of this year's Eleanor Worthington Prize is ‘Disability and self-fulfilment’. It is open to tertiary level students of Art Schools in the UK, Italy, and Ireland. The event takes place in Urbino, Italy with a live link to York where the presenter will be Helen Turner, Associate Head of Art. A York Human Rights City Network representative will be among the speakers.

• Wednesday 4 December, 6.30- 7.30pm
• Room DG/017, York St John University - Free, booking required 

The First World War was a devastating event, which killed and maimed hundreds of physically able young men. This lecture will consider the lasting legacy of the First World War on men’s bodies and minds. What happened to the men who came back from the war alive but with lasting injuries and disabilities? Did the state live up to its promise of a ‘Land fit for Heroes’? How did the state and society seek to readjust men back to their civilian lives and how successful were these attempts? This lecture will consider the lived experiences of people who lived through the war, and came back with bodies which were battered and broken, only to have to fight the state for what they were owed.

Book for Back to Blighty