Search Results for: 2022

This is an archived page for the UnConference that occurred on Saturday & Sunday, October 22 & 23, 2022.

Save the Date for Fall 2023!
Our Annual Fall UnConference will be happening on Saturday & Sunday, October 21 – 22, 2023

UnConference 2022

Disability Studies & Action Collaborative UnConferece

Saturday October 22 – Sunday October 23, 2022
Academic Instructional Center West
Western Washington University, Bellingham Campus

• UnConference 2022 Program
  • This is the final version of our UnConference program.  It includes times, physical locations, and descriptions for presentation sessions. 
• Local Information and Guides
  • This page includes parking information, maps of the building and campus, and links to public transit information
• Participant-only links

Event Information

Save the Date: Our Second DSAC UnConference is happening Saturday & Sunday, October 22 – 23, 2022

Find further materials for this year’s UnConference at:

• Call for Participants & UnConference Application form
  • The deadline for the 2022 UnConference Application has passed.  If you would like to be added to future event announcements, you can subscribe at the bottom of this page.
• Registration Information Form (Deadline: September 02, 2022)
  • Participants: Please submit your final Registration Information using the link above by Friday, September 02, 2022.  You will receive a password to view this page.
• UnConference Program
  • This is the final version of our UnConference program.  It includes times, physical locations, and descriptions for presentation sessions. 
• *UnConference Participants Profiles
• *Tentative UnConference Program 
  • These pages are only visible to UnConference participants.  Please see your emailed participant confirmation for the password to view his page.
• Local Information and Guides
  • This page includes parking information, maps of the building and campus, and links to public transit information
• How you can support our events (Viking Funder)

The Western Washington University Institute for Critical Disability Studies is excited to to be hosting our second Disability Studies and Action Collaborative (DSAC) UnConference in October 2022 after a two-year hiatus.

This year, the event will span two days, and it will provide a venue for scholars, students, nonprofit workers, advocates, activists, artists, and other community members can gather to discuss issues of disability, access, and equity. Our main focus will be local to the needs, concerns, and opportunities of Bellingham, WA and the surrounding Pacific Northwest region.

This event is planned in the ethos of Universal Design. All materials and activities will be designed to accommodate all participants through audio interpreters, downloadable documents, and other accommodations participants request in the application form.

What is an UnConference?

An UnConference is a collaborative event where “experts” of various kinds (broadly defined) get together to learn from one another and solve problems. So, while traditional conferences usually involve experts on a stage giving pre-written presentations, UnConferences focus more on workshops and problem-solving sessions, where participants work together to understand complex problems and devise new solutions.

How is the DSAC UnConference structured?

The DSAC UnConference has aspects of both traditional conferences and UnConferences. Everyone who participates in the event will be assigned to a working group based on their interests and skills. Participants in these working groups will identify a particular disability-related question, problem, project, or idea, and they will work together throughout the first day of the UnConference to find a way to solve that problem or push that idea forward.

The second day of the event follows a more traditional conference format. Every participant will give a presentation ranging from 5 to 30 minutes on topics related to disability studies, disability arts, public advocacy, or other subjects relevant to issues of disability, access, and equity.

Visit the Call for Participation and Application page to find out more information about the conference or contact the organizers at icds.unconference@wwu2.onmicrosoft.com.

2023 UnConference Application

Disability Studies and Action Collaborative UnConference Program Overview

Day 1 Workshops

• Check-in & refreshments: AW ground floor & sky bridge (top floor)
  • 9:45 am – 10:15 am
• Welcome: AW 403
  • 10:30 am – 10:50 am
• Workshop Session A – Discovery: Multiple Rooms (AW top floor)
  • 11:00 am – 12:15 pm
• Lunch: AW sky bridge & AW 408
  • 12:15pm – 1:30 pm
• Workshop Session B – Problems & Opportunities: Multiple Rooms (AW top floor)
  • 1:30pm – 2:45 pm
• Workshop Session C – Project Development: Multiple Rooms (AW top floor)
  • 3:00 pm – 4:00 pm
• Day 1 Closing Session – Sharing Out: AW 403
  • 4:15pm – 5:00 pm

Day 2 Presentations

• Morning refreshments: AW sky bridge (top floor)
  • 9:45 am – 10:15 am
• Morning Panel and Presentation Sessions
  • 10:15 am – 11:15 am
    • Session A1: AW 403
      Arts & Activism: Disability, Juice, and Identity Intersections
    • Session A2: AW 405
      Disability in Literary Studies
  • 11:30 am – 12:05 pm
    • Session B1: AW 403
      Cases for Universal Design for Teaching and Learning
    • Session B2: AW 406
      Cases for Inclusion Study
    • Session B3: AW 410
      Workshop with JZY – Reclamation: Intersections of Caretaking & Stewardship
• Lunch: AW sky bridge & AW 408
  • 12:05 pm – 1:30 pm
• Afternoon Panel and Presentation Sessions
  • 1:30 pm – 2:30 pm
    • Session C1: AW 302
      Disability in Media and Social Media
    • Session C2: AW 303
      Neurodiversity, Leadership, Peers, and Student Experience – Roundtable
  • 2:45 pm – 3:45 pm
    • Session D1: AW 302
      Lessons from COVID and the Working Word
    • Session D2: AW 303
      Special dialog session with Courage Bacchus and Siyámotsiya
    • Session D3: AW 305
      Disability in History and the Archives
• Keynote Presentation, Dr. Pau Abustan: AW 304
  • 4:00 pm – 5:00 pm
    Comfy, cozy, and liberatory community based learning: A queer, crip, and decolonial Pilipinx led disability justice praxis
    • This presentation is open to the public! Attend in-person in AW 304, or via Zoom.

Maps

Click here for more information including Building and Parking maps, or download a labeled pdf of the AW building rooms here.

UnConference Day 2 Presentation Details

Session A: 10:15 – 11:15 am

A.1: Arts & Activism: Disability Justice and Identity Intersections

This panel explores the role artistic expression, storytelling, and identity play in activism, community building, and decolonization. 

A.2: Disability in Literary Studies

This panel discusses how research and personal narratives can help us understand disability inclusion. 

Session B: 11:30 – 12:30 pm

B.1 Cases for Universal Design for Teaching and Learning

This panel explores the possibilities of teaching that is responsive to disability and inclusivity. 

B.2 Cases for Inclusion

This panel will share case materials developed by students with disabilities that can be used to support professional learning by faculty and staff related to inclusion at WWU.

B.3 Workshop: Reclamation: Intersections of Caretaking & Stewardship

This workshop explores topics of intersectionality of identity politics to universal dynamics, diagnosis and connection to culture, and grounds of unspoken language communications. 

Session C: 1:30 – 2:30 pm

C.1 Disability in Media and Social Media

This panel explores how disability, mental health, and self-harm are represented throughout contemporary cultural media, including social media. 

C.2 Disability, Neurodiversity, Leadership, Peers, and Student Experience Roundtable

This panel focuses on the experiences of disabled students at Western, both in terms of how they advocate for accommodations and safety and in terms of building disability communities on campus. 

Session D: 2:45 – 3:45 pm

D.1 Lessons from Covid and the Working World

This panel focuses on two interrelated topics. One thread examines the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on the lives and careers of disabled people. The other focuses on disability in the context of workplaces and careers. 

D.2 Special Dialog Session

This discussion explores personal experiences of facing marginalization, language appropriation/space violation by taking over toward colonization behaviour in life and our arts heal our scars.

D.3 Disability in History and the Archives

This panel examines the role of disability in history and atrocity. It will also discuss the role of the historian in creating and sharing disability history through work in the archives.

UnConference Participant Links

Please use the same password to access these UnConference pages for participants

This page contains useful links participants, including suggestions for getting around by bus and car, as well as local information and suggested accommodations.

• • Parking, Taxi, and Rideshare Information
  • Local Public Transit and Walking to the UnConference (opens in new page)
  • Hotel Accommodations for out-of-town visitors
  • Wi-Fi and Internet access
  • Building Maps
  • Other Local and on-campus events and Resources

Parking, Taxi and Rideshare information

Drivers should use the south end of Parking Lot 19G as a drop off destination.  (GPS coordinates and Google maps link: 48.732392, -122.487142)

Parking is reserved for the UnConference in lot 19G for both Saturday and Sunday.  Signs will be posted on West College Way, Wade King service road, Highland Drive, and 21st Street to direct vehicles.

Parking map for the UnConference. Click to open a larger version of the map, or download a PDF of the map here.

Driving Directions

Hotel Accommodations for out-of-town visitors

Hotel recommendations:

If you are flying in via SeaTac (SEA), one option is the Four Points Sheraton (www.fourpointsbellingham.com), which has a WWU discount rate and Airporter Shuttle service to and from SeaTac airport (www.airporter.com/shuttle). This hotel is adjacent to a Fred Meyer market and pharmacy, across the street from a Whole Foods Market, and next to a bus line, stop ID 3294 (20 minute bus ride to campus is served every 30 minutes via route 197 Lincoln/WWU or 190 Downtown).

Note that if you are flying in via Bellingham (BLI), the hotel at the airport, Holiday Inn & Suites, does not offer area transportation or shuttle service.

Full list of lodging recommendations:

For a full table of accommodations near WWU categorized by price range, and lists phone numbers, distance from campus, and whether a WWU discount is offered, visit the Admissions website.

Building Maps

Click on the thumbnails below to open tentative floor maps for the UnConference. Click here to open floor-by-floor maps of AW as a downloadable pdf instead.

AW ground floor (check-in and information desk)

AW middle floor (Day 2 afternoon sessions and keynote)

AW top floor (Day 1 sessions an Day 2 morning sessions, all meals)

Wifi and Internet Access

Guest Wireless Access Networks

Use the open wireless network WWUwireless-Guest to access web if you are a non-student.

Use the secured wireless network eduroam if you are a University students from another institution.  Your university .edu login credentials will allow you to access this network.

Learn more at http://atus.wwu.edu and click on the icon for Wireless & Networking.   The direct link is here: https://atus.wwu.edu/kb/connecting-westerns-wireless-network

Concurrent Local and On-Campus Events and Places to Explore

You are also invited to check out the many local shops and restaurants downtown.  In particular, there are many places to explore along Railroad avenue, the street directly next to the bus station.  Find more information on bus schedules throughout Bellingham here.  Railroad Avenue has free angle-in street parking after 6pm on Saturday, and all day Sunday.

What is also happening at WWU this weekend?

This weekend is also Fall Family Weekend at WWU. During the day, there will be tours and exhibits throughout campus.
For more information, visit nssfo.wwu.edu/fall-family-weekend

Places to check out: Saturday Farmer’s Market (downtown)

The Bellingham Farmer’s Market  (www.bellinghamfarmers.org/) at Depot Market Square, 1100 Railroad Avenue, is an open-air community market with over a hundred vendors selling fresh food, produce, handmade goods, and more.  Hours are 10 am – 3 pm.  Some vendor stations may be in non-covered locations.

Places to check out: Ruckus room (downtown)

The Ruckus Room is on Railroad Avenue, just across the street from the Downtown Bellingham bus station.  The location has snacks and concessions, and classic arcade games, skee-ball, pinball, and prizes.

Ruckus Room: www.ruckusbham.com

Bellingham-area resources for accessibility needs

Below are some local resources that UnConference attendees can use if their service animals need care, their assistive technology needs repair or maintenance, or they need to connect with someone local for any other reason.

• Bellevue Healthcare Whatcom County: www.bellevuehealthcare.com
• Numotion wheelchair and mobility equipment and repairs: www.numotion.com
• Hearing, Speech, & Deafness Center: www.hsdc.org
• MudBay animal supplies: www.mudbay.com

General WTA bus information

Whatcom Transit Authority (WTA) buses are wheelchair accessible and can also accommodate single-seat two-wheeled bicycles secured to a front rack. Strollers and collapsible bicycles must be able to be folded to fit beneath or between the seats in order to be brought on board.  Access the full WTA website here.

If you are unable to ride the fixed-route buses due to a disability, paratransit service is also available through the WTA, but riders must apply in advance and make a reservation to schedule a trip beforehand.

Fare information

Bus fare is collected per ride segment and costs $1.00, or $0.50 for seniors, veterans, and riders with disabilities with identification or reduced fare card.  An unlimited-ride local day pass can be purchased on board for $3.00 cash, or $6 for a Skagit-Whatcom day pass.  Exact change is needed for bus fares: Bus operators are not able to provide change.

Downtown Bellingham Bus Station

The Downtown Bellingham Bus Station at 205 E Magnolia St. (Stop ID 2001) has a passenger lobby and public restrooms.  Saturday hours are for these facilities is from 8:30 am – 7:00 pm.  Sunday hours for the lobby are 9:30 am – 5:30 pm.  The bus platform also has an information kiosk.

The Downtown Station to WWU corridor is served by routes 14, 190, and 105 (both ways), as well as 196 and 107 (from downtown) and 197 and 108 (to downtown).  Frequency of service between Downtown and WWU is every 15 minutes between the hours of 8:30 am until 10:30 pm Saturdays or until 8:00 pm Sundays.  

For more information, a PDF of the full WTA system transit guide, including paratransit and flex service maps, can be found here: http://www.ridewta.com/Documents/wta-transit-guide.pdf or call (360) 676-7433 to request transit information in alternate accessible formats, such as large print.

Bus Routes Heading to WWU from Downtown

Buses leave for WWU from the Bellingham bus station Bay 5, marked in blue at the South end of the terminal, as well as the adjacent Bay 4. Any bus leaving from Bay 5 or 4 will proceed directly to WWU. Buses depart every 15 minutes. Expect bus transit times of 7 to 10 minutes. Disembark at the WWU “Bill McDonald Pkwy at Rec Center” stops on Bill McDonald Pkwy at the South end of campus, near the parking lots.

Full bus transit information to stop ID 8181 (from downtown), or stop ID 3076 (from Lincoln Park and Ride, or to downtown) is also available through by looking up directions on Google Maps.

Walking to the UnConference Building

The North entrance to Academic Instructional Center West (Academic West, or AW) building is at the South end of the WWU campus.  It is a 3-minute walk, about 0.2 miles northeast of the nearest bus stops after crossing W College Way (GPS coordinates 48.732302498387845, -122.48677806756906).

Application Deadline: 11:59 pm, Friday August 12, 2022
Note: Applications received by Friday, August 5th 2022 will receive priority consideration and first choice in presentation time.

How to apply:

• Complete the UnConference Application online here (google forms)
  or
• Download the Word version of the application document, fill in, and email to icds.unconference@wwu2.onmicrosoft.com

About the Disability Studies and Action Collaborative (DSAC) UnConference

Event details

• Event dates: Saturday and Sunday, October 22 & 23, 2022, 10:00 am – 5:00 pm
• Event location: Academic West Building, Western Washington University
  • hybrid remote options available
• Application deadline: 11:59 pm, Friday August 12, 2022
• Participation Fee: Sliding scale from $0 to $250

What happens at the UnConference?

The annual Disability Studies and Action Collaborative (DSAC) UnConference is one part traditional academic conference and one part collaborative, exploratory workshop. Our aim is to gather in one place, learn from one another’s skills and experiences, and identify avenues where we can productively collaborate across the borders of academia and the community.

This two-day-long event is designed to bring together people from Whatcom county and the surrounding Pacific Northwest region. We welcome participants with personal or professional interests in such topics as:

Critical Disability Studies

• Disability Studies scholarship from a variety of critical approaches and academic fields
• Curriculum, program building, museum studies, and pedagogy informed by disability studies

Access and Equity

• Access and equity in educational settings
• Practices for barrier-free teaching and facilitation in higher education or other settings
• Universal design in physical or digital settings

Activism and Advocacy

• Fair access to local community resources, networks, and spaces
• Advocacy models from local community organizations
• Current projects and unmet needs in disability activism

Community Building

• Perspectives on local disability culture, community building, and solidarity work
• Approaches to fighting disability stigma and fostering disability pride

Arts and Culture

• Disability and various creative arts, including dance, film, music, or visual arts
• Disability and artistic practice

Activities at the UnConference

The UnConference will be broken into two days. All participants will be expected to contribute to each day.

• Saturday, October 22, 2022: The Workshop Day. Participants will be assigned into working groups based on their skills and interests. They will meet in several working sessions to address a problem or topic that everyone has an interest in. The goal is to come up with a collaborative project to address this problem or idea, which will be shared at the end of the day.
• Sunday, October 23, 2022: The Presentation Day. Participants will be grouped into topics and present in panels with other speakers. Presentations will range from 5 to 30 minutes in a format of their choosing, including rapid roundtable discussions, pre-recorded videos, and formal talks.

Who can participate in the UnConference?

Everyone with an interest in disability is welcome to join the event. This may include, but is not limited to, faculty, students, university staff, disability service providers, librarians, nonprofit or public services professionals, activists, artists, performers, engineers, entrepreneurs, and interested community members. We expect those selected to participate as fully as they are able across the course of both days. Both virtual (Zoom) and in-person hybrid participation modes will be available.

Because space is limited, the Working Sessions and Seminar Sessions are only open to attendees who have been accepted to the UnConference. Preference will be given to those who identify as having a disability or other marginalized population traditionally excluded from professional or academic spaces. For those who would like to attend but who would need financial assistance to do so, please reach out to us at icds.unconference@wwu2.onmicrosoft.com.

How to Apply to Attend the DSAC UnConference

Every person who wishes to participate in the UnConference will complete an online application and submit a brief personal statement, an overview of your disability-related work, an interesting problem or challenge you would like to explore at the UnConference, and a list of skills and interests you are interested in contributing in the Working Sessions. To facilitate community building, participants will be invited to read one another’s materials before the start of the UnConference.

Applications received by Friday, August 5th 2022 will receive priority consideration and first choice in presentation time. Final applications are due 11:59 pm, Friday August 12th, 2022.