Along with other social movements that started organizing in the 1960s and 1970s, the fat acceptance movement developed and began to gain support. Fat activists fight to change social, personal and medical perceptions of fat people. Much like the disabilities rights movement, fat activism works with the belief that the problem isn't with the bodies of fat people but society's views, lack of accommodation and prejudice against them.

Currently, fat Canadians are still shamed and oppressed. Institutions have medicalized fatness, creating people's bodies as disorders which indicate a lack of self-control. This has fostered myths and stereotypes about fat people: that they are lazy, poor workers, out of control and unintelligent.

Study in Action is an undergraduate conference designed to link students and community activism. The conference is a space for undergraduate students to present research, develop greater knowledge of social and environmental issues and build ties with community organizations.  Organized by a collective of students through QPIRG Concordia, this year's conference is planned for March 12th-15th, 2009 on the theme of Resistance & Occupation.

Doing Disability Studies research and teaching in the Department of Sociology and Equity Studies in Education, Tanya works from her perspective as dyslexic and with an interpretive sociological approach. She takes interest in examining how feminist, queer and other critical theory exclude and include disability within their studies of politically charged contexts of daily life and desires. Tanya is also author of Reading and Writing Disability Differently: The Textured Life of Embodiment (2007) and Disability, Self and Society (2003). Her talk will draw on feminist and queer theory as they address bodies situated in classrooms and other ordinary spaces of university life.