Autism Studies in Education (AutiSE)
With our research collective “Autism Studies in Education” (AutiSE) at the University of Education Freiburg, we…
- analyze the role of autism in education and, in particular, with regard to (organizational/interactional) processes of inclusion and exclusion – informed by an interdisciplinary perspective sourced from educational science, sociology, and psychology;
- understand the phenomenon of autism not as an individual deficit, but as a cultural or social production – and endeavour to broaden the horizon of autism research by pursuing international and cross-cultural comparisons;
- discuss methodological questions relating to the topic of representation, whilst placing special emphasis on exploring how the ‘critical element’ of Critical Autism Studies might unfold herein.
We strive to create a space for these conversations through (inter)national collaborations and look forward to exchange and cooperation, e.g. in the format of the Lecture Series “Autism Studies in Education – Methodologies I Critique I Representation”.
Im Forschungsbereich "Autism Studies in Education" (AutiSE) an der Pädagogischen Hochschule Freiburg…
- untersuchen wir die Rolle von Autismus im Kontext (schulischer) Bildung und Erziehung mit Blick auf (organisationale/interaktionale) Prozesse der In-/Exklusion – und nehmen dafür Bezug auf interdisziplinäre Perspektiven, u.a. der Erziehungswissenschaft, Soziologie und Psychologie;
- verstehen wir das Phänomen Autismus nicht als individuelles Defizit, sondern als kulturelles oder soziales Konstrukt – und streben eine internationale und kulturvergleichende Forschung an;
- diskutieren wir methodische Fragen im Zusammenhang mit dem Thema Repräsentation und setzen dabei einen besonderen Schwerpunkt darauf, zu erörtern, worin das ‚kritische Element‘ der Critical Autism Studies liegen kann.
Wir möchten durch (inter)nationale Kooperationen einen Raum für diese Diskurse schaffen und freuen uns auf Austausch und Kollaboration, beispielsweise im Rahmen der Lecture Series “Autism Studies in Education – Methodologies I Critique I Representation”.
Contact us
Email: autism_studies@ph-freiburg.de
Phone: +49 176 682 215
University of Education Freiburg | Pädagogische Hochschule Freiburg
Kunzenweg 21
79117 Freiburg
Publication: Assigned Territories: On the Nexus of Diagnosing and Distancing in Inclusive Schools Through Goffman’s Lens (Restayn, Moore & Köpfer 2025)
News & Events
Lecture Series:
Autism Studies in Education - Methodologies | Critique | Representation
Nov 09, 2026 | 4-6 pm
Guests: Dr. Jill Pluquailec (Sheffield Hallam University) & Prof. Dr. Alicia Broderick (Montclair State University)
Further information coming soon…
“Epistemic justice in Critical Autism Studies (CAS) – A reflection on the methodological doxa”
Abstract: The field of autism research has long been dominated by clinical knowledge production. More recently, this pattern orients towards the social model of disability (Milton 2023). Methodologically, the shift is echoed by a focus on participatory autism research: As a counter-model to the objectifying and dehumanizing tendencies (Botha 2023) it aims to include the priorities of the Autistic Community (Kapp 2019) at all levels of the research process—in the hope of establishing epistemic justice (Fricker 2023).
In this regard, the “Participatory Zeitgeist“ (Palmer et al. 2019) can be stated as the new doxa (Bourdieu 1980) in the field of Critical Autism Studies—centering the autistic knowledge (Ryan & Milton 2023). With this approach, the binary between non-/participatory implies an alignment with the opposition non-/critical. However, this can reinforce the naturalization of difference and eclipse other methodological approaches that are also committed to the idea of epistemic justice—but doubt that the perspective of those involved in a situation can directly reveal its situatedness (Clarke 2005). The latter seems to be important as it is simultaneously argued that the critical component of CAS lies in the fact that “[i]t takes the focus off the autistic person and their ‘personal troubles’ and recognizes the socially situated nature of public issues facing autistic people” (Ryan & Milton 2023: 3f.).
Against this background, Broderick and Roscigno (2025: 629) identify as neglected component the “paradigmatic concern or interest in knowledge creation/production and its processural relation to reality constitution”. Based on previous work and discussion in our AutiSE research group, this paper gathers positions and contributes to the issues raised by (a) reconstructing notions of the ‘critical’, (b) discussing ambivalent labels of neurodiversity/neurodivergence as a pre-reflective paradigmatic underpinning of the non-/participatory distinction and (c) deriving methodological implications for research in CAS.
Here you can find our pre-recorded paper presentation (podcast).
