As part of the podcast series, “ArtsAbly in Conversation,” Diane Kolin interviewed Dr. Cynthia George, aka Dr. CynCorrigible, an award-winning artist, educator, and program evaluator living in Nashville, Tennessee.

This post presents the resources that Dr. CynCorrigible mentioned during the conversation. The podcast episode will be published soon.
Dr. Cynthia George aka Dr. CynCorrigible
Dr. Cynthia George (she/they) is an award-winning artist, educator, and program evaluator with twenty years experience working in prevention science. They currently serve as an Associate Professor of Social Work at Tennessee State University in Nashville, Tennessee where they teach courses on research and public policy. They are autistic, manage chronic illness, and mobility issues resulting from a traumatic brain injury. They also perform as Dr. CynCorrigible with their punk band named Dr. Cyn and the Graduates Rise. Their debut album Math is Hard! received academic peer review in 2017 from the Working Class Studies Association. Dr. Cyn was honored with an International Safety Media Award at the 2022 World Safety Conference for their COVID safety campaign integrating social work theory and punk music through their song Quarantine Not Quarantined. Dr. Cyn’s sophomore album titled Canary features ten songs about education and healthcare as performed by some of Nashville’s favorite indie artists.
Visit Dr. CynCorrigible’s website
Stupid or Cruel? Elder Abuse Prevention Campaign
Dr. Cyn’s song Stupid or Cruel? has a special purpose. This song was written the hour immediately after Dr. Cyn gave a witness deposition in their mother’s wrongful death lawsuit. They had just been asked “Why do you think the nursing home abused and neglected your mother?” The video depicts activities of daily living that Dr. Cyn witnessed their mother struggle to get supports for including toothbrushing, toileting, and being safely transferred. There is also a mini-zine connected to the release.
Check out the video for Stupid or Cruel?
Creating Change: The Online Journal of Zines about Social Movements
Dr. Cyn publishes a journal each spring that features the work of their students. Creating Change: The Online Journal of Zines about Social Movements is an online open access journal of student-created zines about social movements published in Digital Scholarship @ Tennessee State University in collaborative partnership with the Department of Social Work and Urban Studies and the Tennessee State University Library.
Access the Creating Change journal
Disabled to the Front
Dr. Cyn serves as the Founding Chair for the Disabled to the Front Advisory Group. This committee uses arts and advocacy and is working with the Mayor’s Office of Nightlife to promote disabled people’s access to nightlife in Nashville, Tennessee.
Learn more about Disabled to the Front
RAMPD
RAMPD (Recording Artists and Music Professionals with Disabilities) est une plateforme professionnelle qui dote l'industrie de la musique et du spectacle vivant d'outils, de programmes et de stratégies favorisant l'intégration des personnes handicapées. RAMPD connecte également l'industrie à un répertoire mondial de créateurs de musique/son et de professionnels de l'industrie ayant un handicap, une neurodivergence et d'autres conditions chroniques ou de santé mentale, afin de trouver des sources et d'embaucher - apportant des opportunités compétitives, une visibilité et une communauté à nos membres professionnels tout en offrant l'inclusion du handicap aux partenaires de l'industrie/des lieux de spectacle. La mission du RAMPD est d'amplifier la culture du handicap, de promouvoir l'inclusion équitable et de plaider pour des espaces inclusifs et accessibles dans les industries de la musique et du spectacle vivant. Fondé en mai 2021 (et établi en janvier 2022) par l'artiste primé et activiste culturel Lachi, le RAMPD a vu le jour après qu'une discussion publique entre la Recording Academy et plusieurs artistes handicapés ait révélé le grave manque de visibilité, d'accès et de représentation pour les professionnels de la musique en situation de handicap.
Lachi
Lachi est une auteure-compositrice-interprète, une artiste de tournée, une productrice, une actrice, une auteure, une défenseuse des personnes handicapées et une activiste culturelle basée à New York. La musique de Lachi est souvent décrite comme de la musique pop ou de la musique de danse. Elle est légalement aveugle en raison d'un colobome. Tout au long des années 2021 et 2022, Lachi s'est imposée comme l'une des principales défenseuses des personnes handicapées dans l'industrie musicale, s'exprimant et se produisant dans des lieux tels que la Maison Blanche, les Nations Unies, le Kennedy Center, le Lincoln Center et la BBC, parmi d'autres apparitions notables. Lachi est le fondateur du RAMPD. À partir de 2022, le RAMPD a commencé à travailler en partenariat avec la Recording Academy pour rendre les Grammy Awards plus accessibles : il a travaillé à l'ajout d'une estrade à rampe visible, d'interprètes en langue des signes, de sous-titrage en direct, de description audio, de langue des signes américaine et de rampes d'accès sur le tapis rouge. En février 2024, Lachi a été nommée "Femme de l'année 2024" par USA Today.
Kathleen Hanna
Kathleen Hanna is an American singer, musician and pioneer of the feminist punk Riot Grrrl movement, and punk zine writer. She is the lead singer of feminist punk band Bikini Kill and fronted the electropunk band Le Tigre in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Since 2010, she has recorded as the Julie Ruin. In 2009, Hanna made her zines, art pieces, photography, video, music, journals, and other material which focus on the early formation of the Riot Grrrl movement available at the Fales Library at New York University. A documentary film about Hanna was released in 2013 by director Sini Anderson, titled The Punk Singer, detailing Hanna’s life and career, as well as revealing her years-long battle with Lyme disease.
Learn more about Kathleen Hanna
Learn more about the documentary The Punk Singer
Lady Gaga
Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta, known professionally as Lady Gaga, is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Known for her image reinventions and versatility across the entertainment industry, she is an influential figure in popular music. The documentary Gaga: Five Foot Two, premiered in 2017, shows her touring journey, navigating her intensive career while dealing with health issues related to chronic pain and fibromyalgia.