Disability Studies and Action Collaborative

Disability Culture, Scholarship, and Community

Institute for Critical Disability Studies at Western

Institute for Critical Disability Studies at Western

About the Institute

The WWU Institute for Critical Disability Studies (ICDS) represents a group of students, faculty, and staff committed to engaging with disability through an interdisciplinary, intersectional, and collaborative approach. 

Our mission is to promote the academic field of critical disability studies, to foster discourse around accessible teaching and scholarship, and to engage with the campus and local community around issues of disability, accessibility, and culture.  The Institute’s core components include:

  • Academic Programming
  • Building Community
  • Collective Action

Read more about the Critical Disability Studies minor, coursework, and academic program here.

Save tuned! Our Fourth Annual Fall UnConference will be happening in October, 2024! Learn more about this last yea’s 2023 UnConference here. 

I’d like to give a donation supporting the Institute for Critical Disability Studies!

ICDS News & Announcements

  • ICDS Graduate Teaching Assistantship positions
    The Institute for Critical Disability Studies is hiring for two to three graduate teaching assistant (GTA) positions in Fall 2023, Winter 2024, Spring 2024, and/or the full 2023-24 academic year! Full-time (20 hr/wk) salaried, half-time (10 hr/wk)…
  • First DISA course available for Spring 2023!
    Posted Feb 2023 The Institute for Critical Disability Studies is excited to announce a brand new offering in Critical Disability Studies for Spring 2023… and celebrate our first official DISA prefix course! Special thanks to the DS…
  • Student Advisory Council Listening Session
    The Institute for Critical Disability Studies (ICDS) invites you to join us for a Listening Session on Monday, February 6 at 4:00 at CV 103 or through this Zoom link to inaugurate the Student Advisory Council (SAC)….
  • A letter from the ICDS co-directors
    December 30, 2022 To the Disability Studies & Action Collaborative Community: As 2022 draws to a close, we wanted to first take a moment to thank you for your part in our community: whether as student, alumni,…

Read all news and announcements…

Disability Studies Institute (Archive)

Proposing the Institute & Seeking Feedback (Feb 2021)

WWU ICDS Pre-proposal