Search Results for: 2023

This is an archived page for the UnConference that occurred on Saturday & Sunday, October 21 & 22, 2023.

Our Annual Fall UnConference is Saturday & Sunday, October 21 – 22, 2023
The application to register for the 2023 UnConference is now closed.

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UnConference 2023

Disability Studies & Action Collaborative UnConferece

Saturday October 21 – Sunday October 22, 2023
10:00 – 5:00 pm
Academic Instructional Center West
Western Washington University, Bellingham Campus

• UnConference 2023 Final Program –
  • Download the 2023 Presentation Program
    • Check out last year’s UnConference 2022 Program, which includes 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 – please use the password sent in your confirmation email
  1. Tentative Participants List (password required) – A list of Participants and their profiles
  2. Preliminary Program and Presentation Groupings (password required) – A tentative draft program of the UnConference and participant workshop, panel, and presentation groupings.
  3. Registration Part 2 (password required) – The follow-up Participant Information Form for confirmed UnConference participants. Participants: Please complete Part 2 Registration by Friday August 25 so that we can complete the event program.

Not attending this year, but still interested in helping us conduct the UnConference this and future years? Donate to our Special Events fund!

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About the UnConference

The Western Washington University Institute for Critical Disability Studies is excited to to be hosting our third annual Disability Studies and Action Collaborative (DSAC) UnConference in October 2023.

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.

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2023 UnConference Application

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The DSAC UnConference Archives

Day One — Workshop Schedule

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

Day Two Program — Presentation Sessions and Workshops

• Morning refreshments: AW sky bridge (top floor)
  • 9:30 am – 10:00 am
• Morning Panel and Presentation Sessions
  • 10:00 am – 11:15 am
    • Session A1: AW 406
      Experiencing Disability and Deafness through Arts and Culture
    • Session A2: AW 410
      Empowering Local Disabled Communities
  • 11:30 am – 12:30 pm
    • Session B1: AW 406
      Disability Studies Research
    • Session B2: AW 410
      Workshop: Design Clinic
• Lunch: AW sky bridge & AW 408
  • 12:30 pm – 1:30 pm
• Afternoon Panel and Presentation Sessions
  • 1:30 pm – 2:45 pm
    • Session C1: AW 406
      Community Building, Pride, and Allyship
    • Session C2: AW 410
      Systems of Oppression and Systems of Empowerment in Education
  • 3:00 pm – 4:00 pm
    • Session D1: AW 406
  • Workshop: Reclamation; Intersections of Caretaking & Stewardship
    • Session D2: AW 410
    • Roundtable: Disability and Student Experience
  • 4:15 – 5:00 pm
    • Session E1: AW 406
      Intersections of Identity and Action
    • Session E2: AW 410
      Workshop: Disabled Experience through Letter Writing

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Session A1: AW 405 Experiencing Disability and Deafness through Arts and Culture

This panel focuses on artistic production, including poetry, visual arts, and performance. Panelist will explore how artistic work allows Deaf and disabled people to express important insights and how art can serve an important function within Deaf and disabled communities.

Session A2: AW 403 Empowering Local Disabled Communities

This panel explores practices for building communities that are accessible and welcoming to Deaf and disabled communities in Bellingham and the surrounding region.

 

11:30 am – 12:30 pm 

Session B1: AW 405 Disability Studies Research 

This panel features research projects currently in process. It will explore how disability studies concepts can lead to productive research projects, as well as the challenges and possibilities of various research methodologies. 

Session B2: AW 403 Workshop: Design Clinic 

This workshop will pick up where the day 1 working groups left off, inviting participants to pitch ideas for larger development and implementation in the future. It will draw on the “design clinic” model developed by the Center for Community Learning at WWU.

 

1:30 – 2:45 pm

Session C1: AW 405 Community Building, Pride, and Allyship 

This panel explores the ways we can build accessible communities that value the unique knowledge of Deaf and disabled people. It will investigate topics including disability pride, allyship, and specific workplace, institutional, or academic contexts.

Session C2: AW 403 Systems of Oppression and Systems of Empowerment in Education

This panel focuses on issues of disability within educational settings, both K-12 and higher education. It will address the negative aspects of educational systems and also the positive possibilities of supportive practices including counseling, tutoring, and disability-conscious teaching. 

 

3:00 – 4:00 pm 

Session D1: AW 405 Workshop: Reclamation; Intersections of Caretaking & Stewardship 

Participants will be invited to explore their inter-entity connections through sensory mapping and narrating. Art supplies will be provided, participants encouraged to bring their media to the space for assurance. 

Session D2: AW 403 Roundtable: Disability and Student Experience

 

4:15 – 5:00 pm

Session E1: AW 405 Intersections of Identity and Action

This panel explores the ways personal identity and cultural identity can inspire action and community building.

Session E2: AW 403 Workshop: Disabled Experience through Letter Writing

 

 

Presentation 

Click here to access the finalized presentation panel schedule.

Presenting at the UnConference

You will present with several other people as part of 60- or 75-minute panels. These panels will be hybrid, meaning that some panelists will present over Zoom while others will be in the physical presentation room. There will be UnConference staff available to assist you with getting your presentation set up.

Presentations may include visual elements if you desire, but these are not required. Presenters may choose to use PowerPoint slides or handouts, for instance. If you are using slides, be sure you have them available via a USB drive or an online drive. 

Presenters have the option of pre-recording their presentation and playing it at the panel session. If they do so, they should communicate with the panel moderator to make arrangements. 

All panel sessions will leave open time for question and answer with the audience and among the presenters. Even if you are submitting a pre-recorded presentation, you should still participate in the question and answer time. 

Presentation Types

One option for presenting is to give a traditional talk or lecture. These will be either 10 or 15 minutes long. 

Another option is to give a 5-minute discussion starter presentation. This format is highly adaptable. The presenter names a specific topic they find interesting or important. They explain about their interest in the topic and suggest some reasons why it would be important for others to think about. They then pose two or three questions for the panelists to discuss related to the topic. All of the panelists respond to the prompt, if they are able to, before they move on to the next question from the presenter. All told, the discussion starter presentation should represent 10-15 minutes of time for the panel: 5 minutes for the initial presenter, then 5-10 minutes for the discussion with the panel. 

Here is an example:

• I might give a discussion starter on the topic of graduate student teachers with disabilities. I might point out the challenges they face managing their own needs for accommodation as a graduate student, while also learning to be teachers for the first time. I might point out the emotional complexity of having to provide accommodations to their students while being disabled themselves and struggling to understand their role as teachers.
• Then I might ask three questions: 1. How can we provide a more empowering place for new grad students to explore their own disability identity, and why might it matter? 2. How can we put disabled teachers in the position to be mentors for their disabled students? 3. How can we help new disabled teachers work sustainably?
• Then everyone on the panel might respond to these questions one at a time

Note that the discussion starter conversation is not meant to replace the standard Q&A at the end of the panel. 

Accessibility 

Please prepare your presentation to be as accessible as possible. If you use visual aids, make sure you are allowing for the full participation of audience members and panelists with visual impairments. For instance, when you include images or quotations on your slides, pause to describe them or read the quotation aloud. If you provide a handout, explain what is included and provide a link people can follow to download it during the presentation or after the fact. 

Getting Help

Reach out to lucchea@wwu.edu if you have any questions about the presentation sessions. Individual coaching is available at these times:

• Mon, Sept 25 12-1:30
• Tue, Sept 26 4-5:30
• Wed, Sept 27 1:30-3
• Mon, Oct 1 5-6:30
• Fri, Oct 6 9-10:30
• Mon, Oct 9 5-6:30
• Thu, Oct 12 11-12:30

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

Quick Bus Info

The closes bus stops to the UnConference are the WWU “Bill McDonald Pkwy at Rec Center” stops on Bill McDonald Pkwy at the South end of campus. Full bus transit information to bus stop ID 8181 (from downtown), or bus stop ID 3076 (toward downtown) is also available through by searching directions on Google Maps from this map location.

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 is discounted to $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. (Bus 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.

Application Deadline: 11:59 pm, Friday August 04, 2023
Note: Applications received by Friday, July 21, 2023 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 and icds@wwu.edu

About the Disability Studies and Action Collaborative (DSAC) UnConference

Event details

• Event dates: Saturday and Sunday, October 21 & 22, 2023, 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 04, 2023
• 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:

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

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

Arts and Culture

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

Activities at the UnConference and beyond

The UnConference will be broken into two days. All participants will be expected to contribute to each day. Continued participation in follow-up activities after the two-day event is welcomed.

• Saturday, October 21, 2023: 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 22, 2023: 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.
• After the UnConference Concludes: UnConference Follow-up Activities. Participants are invited to join in periodic meetings and events organized by the WWU Institute for Critical Disability Studies

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, July 21 2023 will receive priority consideration and first choice in presentation time. Final applications are due 11:59 pm, Friday August 04, 2023.

Table of Contents

Critical Disability Studies Academic Program

Clubs, Outreach, and Events

Student Advisory Council (SAC)

The Institute for Critical Disability Studies Student Advisory Council (SAC) functions with the goal of ensuring that the disabled student body is heard within the ICDS. The SAC is a student-run organization composed of both undergraduate and graduate students that   represent the needs and priorities of students through community discussion. The focus of the council includes disability representation within administration, curriculum development for education on disability, determining and sharing communities and spaces available for disabled students, and physical accessibility. The ICDS and SAC prioritizes student voices and guarantees a safe environment for students to share their thoughts and concerns. This year, the SAC was inaugurated by the ICDS’s Graduate TA, Hidemi Mitani Shen, and an official council charter was created in collaboration with students and SAC leadership. SAC Leadership has also held conversations on improving accessibility within the University. The SAC’s main focus for this Spring Quarter was to create a recruitment plan to engage more students in the upcoming academic year.  Next year, the SAC also plans to collaborate with other university organizations and clubs to improve disability training resources for faculty members, increase student participation, and continue to give a safe space for the disability community to have their voice be heard.

ICDS Representing at WWU QueerCon 2023

On Saturday, April 29, 2023 the Institute for Critical Disability Studies tabled at Western Washington University’s 7th Annual QueerCon event. With a focus on intersectional community, the event hosts over 80 tables from vendors and organizations. The ICDS shared ways for students to get involved with the institute, and distributed information about the new Critical Disability Studies minor. The table had a great turnout, and was out of fliers by the end of the event.  

Scholars Week and Dr. Sami Schalk Keynote

Western Washington University Scholars Week is an annual showcase that features research and creative work from both undergraduate and graduate students. This year, the showcase included presentations from faculty and student groups, a poster session, three-minute thesis presentations, and readings of creative works. Across campus, Scholars Week was being celebrated with several events including a virtual presentation by Dr. Sami Schalk. The ICDS held a meeting with Dr. Sami Schalk to discuss Critical Disability Studies, identifying new things to implement for the Institute moving forward.

Give Day

The 2023 Annual WWU ICDS Give Day raised $2,235 from 21 generous donors. These donations  help the ICDS by supporting our programming and advocacy work, ensuring our events are affordable and accessible to all, and helping us directly support Western students through job opportunities and scholarship awards. Every small donation helped us meet the entire ICDS Scholarship Match Challenge, which unlocked an additional $1,000 in scholarship funds for our new General Scholarship Fund.

Featured Speakers and Events

We hosted two invited speakers in 2022/2023, Dr. Pau Abustan (Cal. State Los Angeles) and Dr. Sami Schalk (University of Wisconsin, Madison). Click the links below to access recordings of their presentations. We are grateful to the programs and departments who helped support these events. 

ICDS Scholarships and Fellowships

The WWU Institute for Critical Disability Studies supports faculty, staff, and community members through one-year fellowships where Fellows engage in programs or projects related to disability scholarship and advocacy. This new process-driven program, launched in 2023, builds an annual cohort of five Fellows from various professional and advocacy backgrounds. 

Meet the 2023 ICDS Fellows Cohort

Erica Bigelow

I’m a philosophy PhD student at the University of Washington, and am working toward a graduate certificate in science, technology, and society studies. I hold a bachelor’s degree from Stonehill College in North Easton, MA, and a master’s degree from Miami University in Oxford, OH. I’m also a steward & organizer with UAW4121, and a philosopher-in-residence at Rainier Beach High school in Seattle. My academic interests are quite wide-reaching; they mostly lie at the crossroads of structural injustice, disability, social epistemology, feminist philosophies, affect, and applied ethics. Some of my current projects include an evaluation of the hermeneutical and phenomenological good that diagnosis can serve as, an examination of the ways that anger gets recapitulated as Madness and the unique harms that its bearer thus becomes subjected to, and, more recently, a paper exploring the harm perpetuated by characterizing the COVID-19 pandemic through militaristic metaphors. 

Kat DeNicola (she/her)

I received my Master’s degree in Counseling Education with a Rehabilitation specialty in 2014 from Portland State University. I have experience working in the vocational rehabilitation field, teaching assistive technology, and working with disabled college students which is what I currently do as an Access Manager at the WWU Disability Access Center. One of the strongest messages disabled people receive from society is that we are broken. We are often viewed as less-than, as burdens. These judgments result in assumptions of what we can and cannot do, and thus what we are allowed and not allowed to do. As a totally blind woman, I believe the disabled body is something to be celebrated. We find ways to dance, to nurture, to create, to play sports, to make love, … And in our current climate where physical attacks on members of minority groups are increasing, we have the right to find ways to defend ourselves. The goal of my project is to provide general awareness and training to local self defense instructors on adapting their teaching techniques so that any disabled person can access training specific to their needs in an inclusive and accessible environment.

Erin Howard (they/them)

Research Scientist/Engineer with the Vera C. Rubin Observatory at the University of Washington 

Erin is a genderqueer and neuroqueer disabled scientist working for the Rubin Observatory at the University of Washington. They graduated from Western Washington University in June 2022 with a Bachelor of Science in physics and math/computer science, with minors in astronomy and statistics. Their time at Western was spent advocating for disabled students and working with the College of Science and Engineering through the Student Ambassadors Program to help make classrooms more accommodating to everyone. In their free time, Erin works with the University of Washington’s Disabilities, Opportunities, Internetworking, and Technology (DO-IT) program as a panelist talking about the life of a disabled student and worker. University of Washington

Jzy (Jazmine Joy De Leon Balila/Yeeles) All Pronouns 

Z devised their concentration in Declaration of Interdependence: Reclamation, Remediation, and Creation, minoring in Chemistry. They exist and operate in scalars–broadening perspectives and inviting specifications into moments and cases. She is of the ocean, space, and the elements. He devotes himself to timelessness and presence.

Melina Juárez Pérez (she/they)

Assistant Professor, Political Science and Women, Gender, & Sexuality Studies

Melina Juárez Pérez is an Assistant Professor in Political Science and Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies. They were born and raised in the Central Valley, California in a Mexican immigrant farmworker community. Their work focuses on the lives, health, and happiness of Latinx and BIPoC communities, particularly that of fat, disabled, queer, and women folk. Her time as a CDS Fellow will be spent on examining the ways disability functions within Latinidad and how it shapes relationships among Latinxs.  

Mark West Scholarship Recipients

The Mark West Scholarship supports WWU students that are engaging in studies related to disability studies and accessibility. The scholarship application is also an option for students that contribute to disability culture at Western through arts, activism, or advocacy work. The award is made possible by the generous donation of Maureen West, WWU trustee and Disability Studies advocate. 

Phoenix Booth (they/them/theirs)

I have an intersectional identity that includes being crip, queer, non-binary, white and I am a first-generation college student from a disadvantaged socio-economic background. I hold a BFA in metalsmithing, a master’s in Critical Craft Studies, and am a master’s candidate in the history program at WWU.  My research passion is the topic of therapeutic craft, and I am currently exploring it from a cultural history perspective. My inquiry considers how craft was used in American medical institutions from 1888 to 1917.  I am placing my inquiry at the intersections of disability history, craft history, and occupational therapy/medical history to tease out associations and implications commonly overlooked. A deep understanding of the socially constructed nature of disability lies at the heart of my inquiry and will inform my analysis of primary source materials regarding historical therapeutic craft practices.

Hillary Banks (she/they)

Hillary Banks is a Fairhaven major and WGSS minor. They have taken WGSS 450 on disability studies, helping her find her voice. They are a queer, non-binary and pan-sexual, disabled, multi-racial, and Black identifying student. Having done activist organizing in the past, they continue to fight for intersectional justice and liberation of minorities and the environment. Helping organize a local Bellingham chapter for Black Lives Matter, they are interested in furthering education and research into topics of disability and liberation to better inform future efforts.

Our People – Meet the ICDS Members

Creative and Scholarly Submissions from the ICDS Community

The ICDS is proud to share creative and scholarly work from both students and faculty at WWU.

Women of Color with Visible Disabilities Face In Western Washington

by Lilyanna Sullivan

 

 

 

 

My name is Lilyanna Sullivan. As a queer Chinese adoptee, I find the intersections of race, gender, class, and ability vital to understanding ways people can truly make a positive change. As a disability advocate and someone who has worked extensively with the disabled community, I believe that the disabled community is totally and completely underserved. With my work, I hope to shed light on the challenges people with disabilities face. To read the full paper, you can access it here.

Fibromyalgia and Chronic Pain in Academic and Professional Settings

by Violet Smith

 

 

 

 

 

My name is Violet Smith (they/them), and I am studying Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies and Critical Disability Studies. I am passionate about consent and sexual health and wellness education, supporting survivors of sexual and domestic violence, and disability justice. I believe the personal, political, and academic can all intersect in a way that makes the world a better place. I am excited to be a part of such change.  To read the full paper, you can access it here.

Queer Autism Zine
by Violet Smith

You can access the whole project here.

Editorial Staff and Thanks

The ICDS is grateful for the work of the student editors who helped to make the Disability Studies & Action Collaborative 2023 Annual Showcase happen.  The 2023 Annual Showcase was compiled and edited by Rachel Kleffman and Hidemi Mitani Shen.

The WWU Institute for Critical Disability Studies supports faculty, staff, and community members with one-year fellowships to develop programs and carry out projects related to disability scholarship and advocacy. Each year, we build a cohort of five Fellows from differing professional and advocacy backgrounds. These fellows meet periodically throughout the calendar year to work together on their projects and learn from each other’s skills and interests.

Fellows are awarded $3,000 annually for their time in the program. This can be used for direct support as a personal stipend, or it can be used to support the project (for instance, paying research assistants or putting on an event). Fellows also consult with one or more Project Mentors.

ICDS Fellows Program Mission

The goal of the WWU ICDS Fellows Program is to create a venue where faculty, staff, and local community members can develop collaborative programs and initiatives related to disability scholarship and advocacy. 

About the Fellows Program

What do Fellows do?

As 2023 is our first year of this program, we do not have examples of projects, programs, or initiatives from previous cohorts. The list below includes some possible models you may want to consider, but this is by no means an exhaustive list.

• Developing a community-focused event or program
• Traveling to conduct research at an archive or to gather interviews from the community
• Building a social network among activists and artists within a community
• Creating an art project and sharing it with the public

While we would like you to have some ideas and general direction for what you’d like to do as a Fellow, you do not have to have a firm plan finalized in order to be accepted into the ICDS Fellows Program. Much of our early work in the Fellows Program can include planning and project development in consultation with Program Mentors and with the collective support of your peers in the Program.

Program Structure

The participation of Fellows in the Program is structured as follows:

1. Each Fellow will submit an application in which they propose ideas and projects they are interested in working on for their fellowship period.
2. Each fellow receives $3,000 for the calendar year. The awarded funds are typically distributed evenly across academic terms, but can be disbursed on a different schedule if requested. 
3. Fellows will be assigned mentors based on their interests and project focus.  Fellows are expected to meet and check in regularly with their mentors during their project development stage.
4. Fellows meet as a full cohort approximately once every other month throughout the calendar year, including once over the summer. These meetings will be hybrid, allowing both in-person and online participation.

Program Outcomes

This is a process-driven program, rather than a product-driven program. What this means is that you will be working toward a goal, but it is not vital that you finish the project within the year of the fellowship. Some projects may turn out to be too big and ambitious to finish in just one year. The Fellows Program is here to help you along the journey. 

There are two outcomes for the fellows program:

1. In May 2023, we will ask you to write a 1-2 page introduction and summary of your ideas and project-in-progress, which we will publish in our annual ICDS Showcase newsletter. We will help you with any editorial support you should need. 
2. In October 2023, we will invite you to give a 10-30 minute presentation about your work as an ICDS Fellow at the annual Disability Studies and Action Collaborative UnConference happening Saturday and Sunday, October 21 and 22, 2023. 

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Meet the 2023 ICDS Fellows Cohort

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Getting Involved

Fellows: How to apply to the ICDS Fellows Program

Applications are due 11:59 pm on Monday, January 02, 2023.  The application form is at the bottom of this page. Finalists will be interviewed in the first half of January.

How to become a Project Mentor for the ICDS Fellows Program

Fellows are partnered with one of five ICDS Fellows Mentors, who are faculty, staff, or community member mentors with expertise or experience in disability scholarship and/or advocacy. Mentors meet once or twice per month with their partner fellows to discuss their projects and offer support. Project Mentors are compensated $1,000 for the calendar year.

If you are interested in serving as a mentor, please contact icds@wwu.edu so that the ICDS co-directors can follow-up with your questions and set up a phone call or Zoom meeting.

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Contact us

Please contact icds.fellows.program@wwu2.onmicrosoft.com with any questions

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Institute for Critical Disability Studies Fellows Application

Applications for the ICDS Fellows Program 2023 Cohort has closed.
Please check back again in October 2023 for information on the next application cycle!

Application deadline: 11:59 pm, Monday, January 02, 2023