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.

Our Fifth Annual Fall UnConference will be happening October 18 & 19, 2025! Learn more about our UnConference here. 

Support the ICDS

ICDS News & Announcements

• 5th Annual UnConference kicks off with a public keynote on October 17
  We at the WWU Institute for Critical Disability Studies are excited for now our 5th Annual Disability Studies & Action Collaborative UnConference happening the weekend of Saturday and Sunday, October 18 and 19, 2025, during Disability Action…
• ICDS Co-Directors 2024 Year-End Message
  Thank you to everyone who has supported our work up to now. We only exist because of this network of students, faculty, staff, and community members who continue to work alongside us as part of a disability…
• 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…

Read all news and announcements…