A neuro-queered, decolonial and (co-)creative approach for Higher Education and beyond
This provocation draws on Kai Syng Tan’s new book Neuro-Futurism and Re-Imagining Leadership: An A-Z towards Collective Liberation (Palgrave Macmillan 2024), which calls for a re-imagination of ‘leadership’ as a trans-disciplinary, (co-)creative, diversified, decolonised, neuro-queered practice of change and future-making.
Colliding mobilities, neuro-queering, the arts and culture, critical leadership studies, social justice, creative pedagogy, futurity and Daoist cosmology for the first time, the short, sweet and spicy hand-book celebrates the Dangerous, Demeaning and Dirty labour of Deviant/Defiant culture-workers often side-lined in (leadership) scholarship, through 60,000 words across 26 break-neck, fist-stomping chapters and 38 colour original images and maps, and is available in both physical or digital formats. The book has been praised as ‘astonishing, daring, pioneering, and much, much needed. At once inspirational, creative, subversive, and at times hilarious, Tan provides multiple strategies to disrupt and reclaim ideas and spaces about leadership.’
Responding to Kai's provocation will be Pascal Matthias.
This is for:
Early career people in HE; people in fixed term contracts and ‘junior’ roles; anyone who is neurodivergent, neurodiversity-curious, knows a peer or student who is neurodivergent, provides disability support, wants to be a better ally. Anyone who wishes to go beyond providing lip service about equity, social justice and inclusion – people in senior leadership/management paygrades welcome too if you are keen to use your privilege to action positive change.
This isn't for:
Turn elsewhere if you’re only keen to tick boxes about having received ‘training’ but will uphold the status quo. Look elsewhere too if you wish to learn about striking power poses.
About Kai:
Kai Syng Tan PhD PFHEA @kaisyngtan is an artist-academic-author-agitator. Hyper-active and tentacular, Kai (she/they) activates artistic and artful processes and strategies to interrogate ‘the norm’ and to catalyse novel insights, dialogues and actions for a more equitable and creative future. She is a new CHEAD Trustee and Associate Professor in Arts and Cultural Leadership, University of Southampton, UK. Kai is founder of the global Neurodiversity In/And Creative Research Network which has 450 neurodivergent innovators and allies, and as many affiliated local groups from Kolkata to Kansas, Waterloo to Whitstable.
About Pascal:
Pascal Matthias is Associate Vice President EDI and Social Justice, University of Southampton. He is also the Co-Founder at FACE (Fashion Academics Creating Equality) Equality, EDI Expert Solent NHS Trust and TEDx Speaker.
Places on this session are limited. If you register and are no longer able to attend, please cancel your place so that a colleague can attend.
