Petra Kuppers

Petra Kuppers is a Professor in the English Department at the University of Michigan's College of Literature, Science, and the Arts. She is a prominent scholar, community artist, and dancer specializing in disability culture, performance studies, and community arts. Her interdisciplinary work bridges academic research with community engagement, focusing on how disability culture shapes artistic practices and social relations.

• Professor at University of Michigan with extensive publication record
• Co-founder of the Asylum Project exploring sanctuary and communal wellbeing
• Identifies as a wheelchair/scooter user living with chronic pain
• Author of eight influential books in disability studies and performance

Research Focus

Kuppers' research explores Cultural Disability Studies through multiple lenses:

• How disability culture emerges through performance, community arts, and everyday practices
• The intersections of disability, queerness, and spirituality
• EcoSomatics and disability perspectives on environmental justice
• Community performance as method for social change and cultural production

Publication Trends

Her recent scholarly output demonstrates evolving focus on:

• Crip approaches to environmental issues (EcoSomatics)
• Disability culture in digital spaces and social media
• Trauma, performance, and justice narratives
• Science fiction and disability futures

Recognition and Impact

With over 39,000 public views on Academia.edu (top 2%), Kuppers' work is widely cited across disability studies, performance studies, and cultural studies. Her publications have significantly shaped contemporary disability culture scholarship.

Mentorship and Community Work

Kuppers co-founded the Asylum Project with Stephanie Heit, bringing together disabled and non-disabled artists to explore sanctuary. Her work emphasizes collaborative practices that bridge academic research and community-based art-making, often through the Olimpias disability performance ensemble.