Disability Studies and Action Collaborative

Disability Culture, Scholarship, and Community

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Search Results for: 2024

People – Institute for Critical Disability Studies

Institute for Critical Disability Studies Co-Directors

The ICDS is currently headed by two half-time co-directors. Andrew (English), and GIM (College of Science and Engineering) are faculty at WWU. You can contact them at ICDS@wwu.edu.

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Andrew Lucchesi

he/they

Associate Professor, English

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GIM (G McGrew)

he/they

Senior Instructor, College of Science & Engineering

Find office hours for Co-directors, Graduate Assistants, and Faculty teaching DISA courses here

Affiliated Members

The diverse faculty, staff, students, and community members who contribute to the critical disability studies program represent colleges and departments across Western Washington University as well as collaborators outside of Western.

WWU Faculty and Staff

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Elizabeth Boland

Professor, Health and Community Studies

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Kathleen Brian

Senior Instructor, Global Humanities and Religions

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Kristen Chmielewski

she/her

Faculty, Recreation Management & Leadership
Teaches: DISA 330 Critical Disability Studies, a Core course for the CDS Minor

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Kat DeNicola

she/her

Access Manager, Disability Access Center

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Yasmine Elglaly

Assistant Professor, Computer Science
Teaches: Critical Disability Studies Minor elective: Accessible Computing

Yasmine’s webpage

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David Engebretson

he/him

Digital Technologies Accessibility Coordinator

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Kyann Flint

Instructor, Critical Disability Studies
Teaches: DISA 330 Critical Disability Studies, a Core course for the CDS Minor

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Lindsay Foreman-Murray

Assistant Professor, Educational Leadership and Inclusive Teaching
Teaches: Cross-listed DISA 350 Topics in Critical Disability Studies

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Allison Giffen

she/her

Faculty, Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies
Teaches: Electives for Critical Disability Studies Minor

Allison’s webpage

I am a professor in the English department and specialize in 19th-century American literature and culture with an emphasis in disability studies and critical childhood studies. My current research in explores the intersections of race, disability, and childhood in late 19th-century literature.
Note: Allison was our Interim Co-director in Spring 2023

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Tim Kowalczyk

he/him

Chemistry & Energy Studies

Tim.Kowalczyk@wwu.edu

Tim’s webpage

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Pam Kuntz

she/her

Dance Program Advisor / Senior Instructor
Teaches: DISA 350, a core Topics course in the Critical Disability Studies Minor

pam.kuntz@wwu.edu
Pam’s webpage: kuntzandco.org

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Ceci Lopez

Assistant Professor of Law, Fairhaven

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Scot Nichols

Fairhaven College

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Joseph Mogharreban

he/him

Director, Disability Access Center

mogharj@wwu.edu

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Tara Perry

she/her

Professor, Department of Communication Studies, faculty affiliate to Institute for Critical Disability Studies and Women Gender and Sexuality Studies

perryt@wwu.edu

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Candice Styer

Instructor of Special Education, Woodring

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Anika Tilland-Stafford, PhD 

they/them

Senior Instructor, Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies & Honors College

Office: Miller Hall 415D

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Adrian J. Villicana

Assistant Professor, Social Psychology, Fairhaven

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Daman Wandke

Instructor, Educational Leadership and Inclusive Teaching
Teaches: DISA 330 Critical Disability Studies and DISA 350 Topics in Critical Disability Studies, Core courses for the CDS Minor; Electives for the CDS Minor

Contact: wandked@wwu.edu

Collaborators and Community Members

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Pau Abustan

||All Pronouns||

Formerly Visiting Assistant Professor, Women Gender, and Sexuality Studies

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Sean Bruna

he/him

Currently on leave

brunas@wwu.edu
(360) 650-2290
Sean’s webpage

Graduate Teaching Assistants

Graduate TAs assist the operations of the Institute in many invaluable ways, including event logistics and planning, course and curriculum feedback, office hours, and student mentorship and leadership organizing.

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Lorraine Floyd

Graduate Student, Rehabilitation Counseling

ICDS GTA Fall 2023 – present

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Fred Engelfried

Graduate Student, Environmental Studies / Urban Planning

ICDS GTA Fall 2024 – present

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Sarah Lucas-Page

she/her
Graduate Student, Music and Performing Arts
ICDS GTA Fall 2024 – present

Sarah Lucas-Page is an award-winning composer and clarinetist who has dedicated her life to the art of music and activism by continually pushing the boundaries of her creative expression. She has been creating and performing new clarinet music to help fight injustice and bring awareness to issues within the LGBTQIA+ community, Fat Body Politics, Women, and Neurodivergent people. Lucas-Page is pursuing her master’s degree in music composition at Western Washington University, studying with Dr. Charles Halka, Dr. Robert Hamilton, and Dr. Rachel Yoder. She is a Graduate Assistant for the Institute for Critical Disability Studies department and the music department.

Our Previous ICDS Graduate Assistants

The ICDS is grateful for the work that our Graduate Assistants have done to help the Institute meet our growing and changing needs, from helping to plan and manage events, to TAing course in our Minor. We would like to acknowledge them here:

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Eden Chapman

Graduate Student, Masters in Teaching
ICDS GTA Fall 2023 – Summer 2024

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Spike Osadchuk

Graduate Student, Anthropology
ICDS GTA Fall 2022 – Winter 2024

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Hidemi Mitani Shen

she/her

Graduate Student, Computer Science
ICDS GTA Fall 2022 – Spring 2023

Find office hours for Co-directors, Graduate Assistants, and Faculty teaching DISA courses here

ICDS Committees

For questions about joining Institute for Critical Disability Studies standing committees, ad-hoc committees, and task forces, please email icds@wwu.edu.

Standing Committees

  • Curriculum Committee*
    • DISA coursework approvals and interdisciplinary minor in critical disability studies
  • Programming (Events) Committee*
    • ICDS and community events, workshops, lectures, and other projects
  • Development Committee*
    • grants and fundraising
  • Outreach Committee*
    • publicity & collaborative relationship-building
  • Scholarships & Awards Committee*
    • ICDS scholarships and Scholars Week student recognitions

Advisory Councils

  • Student Advisory Council*
    • a student-organized body of undergraduate and graduate students providing recommendations to the ICDS
    • Leadership positions are compensated: learn more at student employment
  • ICDS Advisory Council* (formerly Interim Advisory Council)
    • an advisory council to the ICDS co-directors consisting of internal and external members

General Membership & Community

Ad-Hoc Committees and Task Forces

  • DS Minor Task Force
    • Objective: Complete submission of disability studies minor paperwork and propose additional core classes for the minor
    • COMPLETED!
  • ICDS ADEI Statement Task Force*
    • Objective: Collaboratively finish the Institute’s statement on accessibility, diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging

* = this committee is looking for additional members

Add or update my ICDS affiliation information

Working as a Graduate Teaching Assistant for the Institute for Critical Disability Studies

Call for Graduate Teaching Assistantships

The Institute for Critical Disability Studies (ICDS) is hiring graduate teaching assistants (GTAs) for the 2024-2025 academic year to support the Institute and its mission to promote disability studies coursework, host events that bridge he academic-community divide, and to support disability culture, awareness, and advocacy at Western Washington University.

We expect to hire two to three graduate students to serve in full-time salaried, half-time salaried, and/or hourly nonsalaried graduate teaching assistant (GTA) positions for individual Fall, Winter, and/or Spring quarters of 2024/25, and/or for the full 2024-2025 academic year (Fall, Winter, and Spring quarter).

The full details and application forms for this position can also be downloaded as a word document.

Application Deadline & Hiring Timeline

Application deadline for all 2024-25 ICDS GTA positions: 11:59 pm on Sunday, August 25, 2024.

Hiring decisions will be announced on or before Monday September 02, 2024. Fall positions start on Monday, September 16, 2024.

Position Overview

ICDS GTAs have many responsibilities. They will directly support ICDS students, critical disability studies minors, and the ICDS student community by holding regular office hours and by supporting the activities of the ICDS Student Advisory Council (SAC).

Specific additional responsibilities will be decided upon mutual discussion and agreement between individual GTAs and Institute Co-Directors in the areas of academic support, program support, and Institute support (see What are the GTA job responsibilities? section below). Example additional GTA responsibilities may include assisting with organizing events, web and social media work, and otherwise assisting with academic programming in Critical Disability Studies, including moderating discussions on disability-related topics and/or grading coursework within the Critical Disability Studies minor.

Position Details

Required qualifications
  • GTAs are expected to keep timely communication with ICDS co-directors and staff during business hours, including email correspondence, responding to calendar invitations for scheduled meetings, and taking initiative to reschedule meetings that are missed.
  • GTAs should have experience in writing in genres including formal emails, event announcements, and profile articles. Clear prompts and coaching will be provided.
  • GTAs must responsibly handle sensitive information, such as when working with confidential student or personal information and coursework.
  • GTAs must stay current on required WWU ADEI trainings and abide by ICDS policies on supporting accessibility, diversity, equity, and inclusion (ADEI).
Preferred qualifications
  • Knowledge and experience in disability studies, advocacy, accessibility, and/or universal design is highly preferred, but not required.
  • Proficiency in writing in diverse genres, including blogging, social media, email, meeting minutes, and summaries of events is preferred, but not required.
  • Experience in student or community leadership, for example in a student club or community organization is preferred, but not required.
What are the GTA job responsibilities?

ICDS GTAs have many responsibilities. They will directly support ICDS students, critical disability studies minors, and the ICDS student community by holding regular office hours and by supporting the activities of the ICDS Student Advisory Council (SAC).

GTA Responsibilities will also include a subset of the following in these three areas of support need, which will be determined with each GTA individually upon mutual discussion and agreement between GTA and Institute Co-Directors:

  • Academic support
    • Work with faculty teaching disability studies courses through grading, and/or moderating discussions
    • Work with faculty to design curriculum on disability-related topics
    • Holding office hours for students in disability studies courses
  • Program support
    • Designing and/or delivering professional development workshops
    • Organizing speaker event logistics
    • Organizing and facilitating the annual UnConference panels and workshops
    • Mentoring UnConference student workers
    • Coordinating event logistics such as food, room setup, and printing materials
    • Co-hosting and representing ICDS at outreach and informational tabling events
  • Institute support
    • Keeping records and reporting to ICDS co-directors: this includes attending and taking notes on ICDS meetings
    • Writing blog posts and newsletter articles about the ICDS programs
    • Mentoring undergraduate student workers
    • Serving on standing committees
    • Serving in a mentor and advisory role to support the operations of the ICDS Student Advisory Council (SAC)
    • Interfacing with various offices and student groups
Who can apply to be an ICDS GTA?

This position is open to all WWU graduate students regardless of disability status or field of study. We are particularly interested in welcoming applicants with diverse and intersecting identities, particularly disabled, neurodiverse, chronically ill, BIPOC, queer, and gender non-conforming individuals.

Please note: If your graduate program is not state-supported (i.e. is offered through OCE, office of continuing education), you cannot received salaried GTA support and must apply for an hourly nonsalaried position.

Hours, pay, and benefits

The GTA position is available as full-time salaried, half-time salaried, and hourly nonsalaried. The position requires approximately 20 hours per week for full-time appointments, 10 hours per week for half-time, and between 5-9 hours per week for hourly positions.

Salaried GTAs will receive the standard pay and health insurance benefits of an academic graduate teaching assistant. Full-time and half-time salaried positions include full graduate tuition waivers.  Compensation for hourly nonsalaried GTA positions will be consistent with the current wage schedule for graduate assistants.

GTAs will report directly to the ICDS Co-Directors and administrative manager. Hourly GTA positions require timely reporting of hours through electronic time sheets maintained by the GTA and approved by the ICDS.

How to apply to be an ICDS GTA

To apply, submit your Resume/CV and the ICDS Graduate Assistant Application attached to the end of the Job Description word document; it includes basic applicant info, interest survey, and space for an approx. 1 page cover letter. Send documents to icds@wwu.edu and cc both mcgrewg2@wwu.edu and lucchea@wwu.edu “ICDS Graduate Assistant Application” and your last name.

The application and cover letter should explain the following information:

  • whether you are applying for the full-time (20 hours/wk salaried), half time (10 hours/wk salaried), or hourly nonsalaried GTA position (5 – 9 hours/wk)
  • what quarter(s) you are applying for: Full Academic year, Fall Quarter, Winter Quarter, and/or Spring Quarter
  • your home graduate department and your year in the program
  • whether there is any flexibility or uncertainty in your need for employment with the ICDS
  • describe your interest in the position and the personal experience that qualifies you for the position, including how you meet the job’s required and preferred qualifications
  • identify which subsets of the proposed job responsibilities you are most excited to take on under Academic, Programming, and Institute Support (see What are the GTA Job Responsibilities? under Position Details)

Applications are due 11:59 pm Sunday, August 25th.

Applications have closed

ICDS GTA Position Description (Word Document)

FAQ

Frequently asked questions about the ICDS Graduate Teaching Assistant positions

What is the difference between the full-time salaried, part-time salaried, and hourly nonsalaried appointments?

These appointments differ in salary, benefits, minimum enrollment to apply, and whether other campus jobs can be accepted simultaneously. Paychecks are disbursed biweekly (every 2 weeks).

  • full-time salaried: 
    • 20 hours/week ICDS Graduate Assistant Work
    • salary: $5850 per quarter paid in 6 installments
    • tuition waiver: Full (waiver does not cover student fees: full table of cost here)
    • benefits include health insurance
    • enrollment: must be enrolled full-time, or at least 8 credits per quarter of employment in a state-supported WWU graduate program
    • Other campus jobs: No other campus jobs can be accepted
      • generally, a graduate student is limited to 6 quarters of salaried GTA work through the WWU Graduate School.
  • half-time salaried: 
    • 10 hours/week ICDS Grad Assistant Work
    • salary: $2925 per quarter, in 6 installments
    • tuition waiver: Partial (full table of cost here)
    • benefits include health insurance
    • enrollment: must be enrolled full-time, or at least 8 credits per quarter of employment in a state-supported WWU graduate program
    • Other campus jobs: can be accepted, up to 9 hrs/wk
  • hourly nonsalaried:
    • 5 – 9 hours/week ICDS Grad Assistant Work
    • non-salaried hourly rate: consistent with the WWU wage schedule for graduate students
      • Student must record hours worked and submit biweekly time sheets that are then approved by the ICDS.
    • tuition waiver: None
    • student covers health insurance
    • enrollment: must be enrolled at least half-time, or 4 credits per quarter (graduate half-time)
      • Any WWU graduate student can be paid hourly, including grad students in continuing education (OCE) graduate programs.
    • Other campus jobs: can be accepted

Does a tuition waiver from a salaried graduate assistant position also cover fees?

No, the tuition waiver does not cover student fees: a full table of costs for 2023-2024 is linked here

Do I need to be enrolled as a full-time graduate student to work an ICDS GTA position?

For salaried (full-time and half-time) positions, you must be enrolled full-time, or 8 credits per quarter minimum, for each quarter you will be employed as a salaried grad assistant.

For non-salaried (hourly part-time) positions, you do not have to be enrolled full-time, but you do need to be enrolled at least half-time, or 4 credits per quarter minimum, for each quarter you will be employed as a grad assistant.

Archive

Previous years’ calls for GTAs.

Resources

Discussion Groups
Office Hours
Student Resources
Faculty & Staff Resources
Local Organizations

This page is an ever-growing list of resources for students, faculty, staff, and community members. Please let us know at icds@wwu.edu with additional resources that we can add to this page!

Support and Discussion Groups

New! Join the Disability Studies and Action Collaborative and the ICDS for topical discussion and support groups created by and for disabled people. Learn more about the Disability Justice Collaborative and the Disability Pedagogy Group as and find instructions on how to join here (link). Our Spring 2024 meeting times are currently Mondays at 5:00 pm.

ICDS Community Office Hours

Meet with the ICDS GTAs, faculty, and co-directors at their virtual ICDS Community Office Hours

Office Hours:

Co-Directors

Faculty teaching DISA courses

Graduate Assistants

Resources for WWU Students

ICDS Student Advisory Council

The WWU Student Advisory Council (SAC) is an independent student-run committee within the Institute for Critical Disability Studies comprised of undergraduate and graduate students at WWU. Their mission is to create a safe and supportive space for disabled student and allies to foster a growing community of inclusion, accessibility, and disability culture, and to ensure that disabled students are represented and included at all levels of the Institute’s operations. In order to better represent the needs and priorities of the disabled student community, the Student Advisory Council meets for discussion regularly during the academic year and provides recommendations for the ICDS at their regular meetings. You can reach out to the current ICDS SAC leadership team at: wwu.icds.sac@gmail.com or reach the Co-Presidents directy by email at kleffmr@wwu.edu and wilkinc5@wwu.edu.

WWU Clubs

Are you part of a club that centers disability, neurodiversity, mental health, and/or chronic illness? Tell us about it! We’d like to know more about your group, and would also like to share your group’s information on this Resources page, if you are willing.

WWU Disability Access Center (DAC)

The WWU Disability Access Center is the official office for students requesting disability-related accommodations for their classes. The office increases access and inclusion for students by ensuring both WWU’s legal compliance with the American with Disability Act (ADA), as well as offering additional programming, outreach and professional development aimed at faculty, and self-advocacy resources.

WWU Disability Outreach Center (DOC)

The WWU Disability Outreach Center is a program of the Disability Access Center, and is a space for disabled students and allies to build community and advocate and connect folks to resources. Find the DOC in Wilson Library ground floor: WL 165. They are open M-F 12:00 – 5:00 pm, and have space to study and hang out. NEW! Meetup / Social Hour now happening every Friday at Noon!

Resources for WWU Faculty and Staff

Professional Development and Workshops from the ADEI Unit

The WWU Accessibility, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (ADEI) Unit offers faculty and staff events and professional development workshops on everything from implementing accommodations to including Universal Design for Learning (UDL) in your course design. Check out Disability-related ADEI Unit workshops through the WWU Disability Access Center webpage here, or find all the upcoming WWU ADEU Unit events and updates here.

Links to Forms for current ICDS Faculty and Staff Affiliates

Need to print teaching evaluations for your DISA course? Visit this page [page under construction] for links and reference material for current ICDS-affiliated faculty engaging in teaching and committee work for the ICDS.

Community Organizations

Whatcom County & Bellingham

Whatcom Neurodivergent Collective

“The goal of the Whatcom Neurodivergent Collectiveis to build community, offer support, and provide a base for education and activism for Neurodivergent people in Whatcom County.”

You can find dates for their meetups at Inner Child Studio in downtown Bellingham through the Inner Child Studio webpage, generally the first Sunday of every month.

Pacific Northwest

Greater U.S. or International

DSAC Annual UnConference

UnConference 2024

Our Annual Fall UnConference is Saturday & Sunday, October 19 – 20, 2024
Applications have closed, but you can join us for our Friday, October 18 Reception and Keynote in AW 204, which is free and open to all. 4:30 reception, 5:30 keynote.

Disability Studies & Action Collaborative UnConference

Saturday October 19 – Sunday October 20, 2024
Tentative time: 10:00 – 5:00 pm
Academic Instructional Center West
Western Washington University, Bellingham Campus

About the UnConference

The Western Washington University Institute for Critical Disability Studies is excited to to be hosting our fourth annual Disability Studies and Action Collaborative (DSAC) UnConference in October 2024.

The event will span two days, and it will provide a venue for scholars, students, nonprofit workers, advocates, activists, artists, and community members to 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.

Who is the UnConference For?

Everyone is welcome at the UnConference. All that is required is that you have a personal interest in disability issues. We are not asking anyone to be a “disability expert,” but we believe a wide range of people can contribute to our conversations at the UnConference, regardless of whether you work with disability issues professionally, you study critical disability studies as a student or academic, or you have lived experiences of disability. Everyone has something to contribute. 

This event is for everyone, regardless of your access needs. You are welcome to attend the UnConference in person on our Bellingham campus, or you may attend fully on Zoom. We will provide access supports to all attendees, including ASL interpretation, downloadable materials, and other accommodations participants request in the application form.

What happens at the UnConference?

Our UnConference is broken down into two days. Everyone is expected to attend both days of the event.

Day 1: The Workshops

Our first day focuses on a series of workshops. You work in a small group of people from different backgrounds to focus on a specific problem or opportunity related to disability. You have conversations about that topic, then identify an idea for solving the problem or seizing the opportunity. Every workshop group is different. You will be led by a facilitator who will guide the group through the process of deciding on an important topic and discovering a way to address it. 

Past workshop topics include creating an online network for and by BIPOC trauma survivors, developing a research study about disabled students’ personal narratives, and designing templates for identifying access problems on school campuses. 

Day 2: The Presentation Sessions

Our second day focuses on presentation sessions. Every UnConference participant will give a presentation of some kind. Some people might speak for five minutes as part of a roundtable on a topic of their choosing. Some may give longer, more formal presentations ranging from ten to fifteen minutes. The philosophy here is that everyone has a certain kind of expertise to share, whether that’s scholarly research or lived experience. Coaching will be available for those who want some support in developing their presentation. 

What are the themes of the UnConference?

The UnConference is user-driven, so we will focus on whatever aspects of disability culture and access that you are interested in. Here are some example themes that we have explored in the past:

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

2024 UnConference Application

The 2024 UnConference Application

The following information will be updated to reflect 2024 information soon:

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

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

Parking, Wifi, Maps, and Local Guides

The DSAC UnConference Archives

2023 UnConference Archive
2022 UnConference Archive
2019 UnConference Archive

Institute for Critical Disability Studies Fellows Program

About ICDS Fellows
Get Involved
Meet our Fellows
Previous Years

The WWU Institute for Critical Disability Studies supports faculty, staff, and community members with fellowships to develop programs and carry out projects related to disability scholarship and advocacy. Each year, we build a cohort of 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 as part of their Fellowship. Fellows also have the opportunity to consult with one or more paid Project Mentors during their time in the Program.

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?

Our fellows take on a wide range of projects. Click or tap here to read about some project examples and learn about how the program is structured…

Some possible projects could include, but are not limited to:

  • 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
  • Conducting scholarly research and developing writing projects

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 as part of their Fellowship. The awarded funds are distributed in two payments, half at the beginning and half at the conclusion of the Program. 
  3. Fellows will meet with mentors based on their interests and project focus.  Fellows will have regular opportunities to meet and check in with multiple mentors during their project development stage.
  4. Fellows meet as a full cohort regularly throughout the calendar year, including summer. These meetings will be hybrid, allowing both in-person and online participation.

Program Outcomes

Click or tap here to read more about the main outcomes for the fellows program…

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 three main outcomes for the fellows program:

  1. At the beginning of the program, we will ask you to write a brief introduction of yourself and your tentative project ideas, which we will publish in our 2024 ICDS Annual Showcase newsletter. We will help you with any editorial support you should need. 
  2. In October, we will invite you to give a 10-30 minute presentation about your work in progress as an ICDS Fellow at the annual Disability Studies and Action Collaborative UnConference. This year, the UnConference is happening Saturday and Sunday, October 19 and 20, 2024. 
  3. By the end of the program, February 2025, we will ask you to write a short follow-up report on your work as a ICDS Fellow. This final report will be published in our annual 2025 ICDS Annual Showcase newsletter.

Getting Involved

Click or tap here to learn more about how to get involved in the ICDS Fellows Program as a Fellow or Project Mentor…

Fellows: How to apply to the ICDS Fellows Program

Applications for the 2024 Fellows Cohort will open on Friday, March 01, 2024 and will be due at 11:59 pm on Monday, April 01, 2024. Finalists will be contacted for interviews in the first half of April.

Apply to the ICDS Fellows Program 2024 Cohort

How to become a Project Mentor for the ICDS Fellows Program

Fellows partner with ICDS Fellows Mentors, who are faculty, staff, or community member mentors with expertise or experience in disability scholarship and/or advocacy. Mentors meet with Fellows to discuss their projects and offer support. Project Mentors are compensated for each mentorship session.

If you are interested in serving as part of our Mentor team, 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.

Meet the Institute for Critical Disability Studies Fellows

Meet the 2024 Cohort

Selfie of a person with long and wavy blue-grey dyed hair and large-rimmed clear glasses wearing a pink top and pink lipstick. She is looking directly at the camera with a thoughtful expression.

Chapi / Sharon Alfaro

she/her/ella

Click or tap to read more about Chapi…

Hello, my name is Sharon Alfaro but I go by Chapi. My pronouns are she/her/ella. I have worked in the mental health industry for four years up to very recently and it is my biggest passion of all. This is why I decided to make my project mental health and illness related. I currently work as a phlebotomist at labcorp and am a full time mom to three fur babies. I am more than excited for this fellowship and hope I can wow everyone. My goal is not just to wow everyone, but also educate my community and fellow Latinx members

A smiling person with short dark beard and blue baseball cap, dressed in short-sleeved hiking clothes and a red bandana tied around the neck, holding a backpack. He is standing in front of a field with green trees in the background.

Steve Hickenbottom

he/him

Click or tap to read more about Steve, an educator at Edmonds College…

I’m an educator from Seattle, Washington, working in transition skills for students with disabilities at Edmonds College. I grew up in the Ballard area of Seattle and received my bachelor’s degree in history from Western Washington University in 2008. After college I started working as a Special Education paraprofessional in the Seattle School district. Eventually I went back to school and received a Washington State Teaching Certificate in Special Education and taught in the Seattle and Shoreline School districts before moving to Edmonds College in 2023. In my role at Edmonds College I work to support students developing self advocacy and workplace readiness skills as they transition from high school to college/work. I love working with my students and seeing them discover their strengths and passions!

In my free time I enjoy spending time outdoors in the Pacific Northwest, particularly the North Cascades. I love exploring new places and meeting new people along the way. In the ICDS Fellowship I’m excited to explore ways to expand disability services to historically underserved populations through outreach and education. Access to services should not depend on an individual’s income or circumstances and I’m passionate about finding ways to expand access to local and state resources for people with disabilities.

A tall person with short brown hair and medium beard smiles at the camera, facing slightly to the side. He is wearing a forest-toned green and brown flannel shirt and is standing in front of evergreen trees.

Alexander Jones

he/him

Click or tap to read more about Alexander, Accessibility Specialist at Woodland Park Zoo…

Alexander Jones, the Accessibility Specialist at Woodland Park Zoo focuses on all aspects of accessibility as it intersects with the guest, staff, and volunteer experience.  He implemented The Guest Inclusion Program, a grant funded by the Institute for Museum and Library Services focused on creating inclusive informal programming across the zoo based on the principles of Universal Design for Learning.  Working in the field of accessibility for over 9 years he brings a diverse perspective with both lived experience identifying as an individual with disabilities, a background in ADA compliance, Web Accessibility, a human design-centered approach, and adaptive therapeutic recreation. Alexander currently serves on the Seattle Cultural Accessibility Consortium as a steering committee member. While much of his work has been in the space of accessibility he is excited to dig deeper into disability justice in the fellowship at Western Washington University. He hopes this work will help create a deeper impact amplifying more disabled voices.

Meet the 2023 Cohort

Disability Studies and Action Collaborative Logo, in dark blue, blue, and green, implying letters I, C, D, and S using colors and negative space.

Erica Bigelow

Click or tap to read more about Erica Bigelow, a Philosophy PhD Student at the University of Washington…

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. 

A blonde-haired woman in a sky blue winter coat is standing at a city crosswalk and smiling with eyes closed with a black guide dog at her side.

Kat DeNicola

she/her

Click or tap to read more about Kat DeNicola, Access Manager at the WWU Disability Access Center…

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.

Disability Studies and Action Collaborative Logo, in dark blue, blue, and green, implying letters I, C, D, and S using colors and negative space.

Erin Howard

they/them

Click or tap to read more about Erin Howard, a research scientist and engineer at the University of Washington…

Erin is a genderqueer and neuroqueer disabled scientist working for the Vera C. 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.

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

Click or tap to read more about Jzy, a WWU Alum…

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.

A selfie of a feminine person sitting and smiling at the camera, with magenta-rimmed glasses, pearl earrings, long wavy black hair, and grey and white striped button shirt.

Melina Juárez Pérez 

she/they

Click to read more about Melina Juárez Pérez, Assistant Professor of 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.

Contact us

To reach the ICDS Fellows Program team with questions, please address emails to both of the following email addresses: icds@wwu.edu and icds.fellows.program@wwu2.onmicrosoft.com.

Archive

Previous Fellows Cohorts

Mark West Scholarship

About the Scholarship

The Mark West Scholarship has been established to support WWU students who are engaging in scholarship related to disability studies and accessibility. The award is also open to those who are contributing to disability culture at Western in non-academic ways, such as through arts, activism or advocacy work. This award is made possible by the generous donation of Maureen West, WWU trustee and Disability Studies advocate.

Award distribution: Academic Year, beginning Fall
Award amount: $1,000
Number of awards: 1 – 2
Applications open: March 01, 2024
Application deadline: 11:59 pm, Wednesday, May 01, 2024
Letter of recommendation deadline: 11:59 pm, Wednesday, May 01, 2024.
Contact: icds@wwu.edu
Note: The Mark West Scholarship Application Form will open again in Spring 2025

Evaluation Criteria:

Applicants are judged on three main criteria:

  1. Has the applicant demonstrated a high level of scholarly engagement with disability studies or disability- and access- related course work?
  2. Has the applicant demonstrated a high level of extra-curricular engagement with disability-related arts, activism, or advocacy, either at Western or elsewhere?
  3. Does the applicant demonstrate financial need for the award?

Our next application to the Mark West Scholarship
will open in Spring 2025

Mark West Scholarship Awardees

2024-25 Awardees

This year, we are please to announce two awardees, one undergraduate and one graduate student.

A person sitting inside a car, with short hair, round olive green rimmed glasses, and green scarf, smiles at the camera with eyes closed.

Cori Foster

they/them

Cori is a WWU Alumni, who received their BA in Recreation Management and Leadership with a Minor in History, and is a former Disability Outreach Center student employee. During Cori’s time at WWU, they have promoted ADEI, consulted offices on accessibility improvements, and run Disabled community and educational events. They are pursuing their MA in Rehabilitation Counseling, following their dream of working in social services, primarily serving Disabled and LGBTQIA+ individuals. Cori’s passion for working with Disabled individuals comes from their own experience as a Disabled person. They are familiar with the challenges of navigating an inaccessible world and hope to be a relatable Vocational Counselor. In their free time, Cori spends their time analyzing intersectional materials, gardening, crocheting, and spending time with their spouse and their ESA, Pickles.

Disability Studies and Action Collaborative Logo, in dark blue, blue, and green, implying letters I, C, D, and S using colors and negative space.

Kim Miller

 

2023-24 Awardees

We are pleased to announce the awardees for the Mark West Scholarship! Two undergraduate students are receiving the award for the 2023-2024 academic year:

Photo of Jordan Van Haften in the form of a selfie of a light-skinned nonbinary person with freckles and short curly hair. They are in front of a sunny sky and blue water. There are wearing a button denim shirt and have sunglasses resting on top of their head.

Jordan Van Haften

they/them

Jordan is a CSD major and honors student pursuing a minor in the new critical disability studies program. They come from Murrieta, California and have the intersectional identity of being autistic, genderqueer, aromantic, and asexual. Their future goals moving forward is to study audiology and use what they learn in critical disability courses to help to provide accommodations for disabled individuals along with bringing information on disabled history, culture, and issues to the medical sector- which is historically dominated by the medical model of disability. Beyond this, they want to work to help amplify voices of marginalized groups and inform the public of both past and prevalent social issues so that these problems can be acknowledged, understood, and work to be fixed.

A fair-skinned masculine presenting person with red hair and pale eyes seated, looking at the camera. He is wearing a dusky red shirt with yellow stitching and dark pants.

Sebastian Mayotte

I am a passionate student and proud advocate for social justice, and while originally from Michigan I decided to return to higher education in the PNW back in 2020. Since then, I have been pursuing a rather ambitious Triple-Major/Triple-Minor program meant to provide me with both multi- and interdisciplinary approaches to the various social & economic injustices that we continue to face today.
I am incredibly optimistic for our future and the good work that this next generation of activists will certainly bring. For my part in this mission, I have the long goal of taking what Western has taught me to Law School in order to specialize in human and civil rights law, and to fight for legal protections to the various communities who are far too often left unprotected, marginalized and oppressed.
I am a firm believer of a natural and overall goodness found in human beings, and that the work we invest today will be what decides if we can ever one day live together within a positive peace with equal security for one another regardless of our cognitive or physical makeups, ethnic or religious backgrounds, or identities of race, sexuality or gender. While It may seem utopian, the more time I spend at western immersed in my studies, actively engaged in campus clubs, and volunteering with the various grassroots community organization that proliferate Bellingham, the more certain I am that achieving this human destiny is only a matter of “when” and not “if” for ourselves. 

2022-23 Awardees

We are pleased to announce the awardees for the Mark West Scholarship! We had a large number of deserving applicants, including many excellent applications from undergraduates and graduate students alike. We have chosen one undergraduate and one graduate to receive the award for the 2022-2023 academic year:

A selfie of a person with short, dark curly hair and pierced nose and ears and hazel eyes, wearing a black T-shirt.

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.

Disability Studies and Action Collaborative Logo, in dark blue, blue, and green, implying letters I, C, D, and S using colors and negative space.

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.

Scholarships, Internships, and Student Employment

We are excited to be able to support students in their academic work through scholarships, internships, and student employment opportunities, including jobs in graduate teaching assistantships (GTAs), educational work study, undergraduate peer learning assistantships (PLAs), and short-term event-based student staff positions that support ICDS events.

Check back as we add more opportunities below, or subscribe to announcements at the bottom of this page to stay in the loop!

Scholarships

Mark West Scholarship

Mark West Scholarship

  • Amount: $1,000 – $2,000
  • Number of awards: up to 2
  • Deadline to apply: 11:59 pm, Wednesday, May 01, 2024 for the AY 2024-25 school year
  • The application for 2024-25 has closed
Learn more about the Mark West Scholarship

ICDS General Scholarships for Current Minors in Critical Disability Studies

Thanks to our generous donors from last year’s Give Day 2023, ICDS is pleased to announce the addition of two new scholarships, available to declared Minors in Critical Disability Studies.
P.S. Anyone can contribute to this Scholarship Fund today using this link.

Scholarship in Disability Justice and Activism for CDS Minors

Post last updated; July 2024

  • Amount: $500
  • Number of awards: one award for 2024-25
  • To be eligible, students must have declared the Minor in CDS before the end of Winter Quarter 2024
  • Deadline to apply: 11:59 pm, Wednesday, May 01, 2024 for the AY 2024-25 school year
  • The application for 2024-25 has closed
Scholarship in Academic and Creative Work for CDS Minors

Post last updated: July 2024

  • Amount: $500
  • Number of awards: one award for 2024-25
  • To be eligible, students must have declared the Minor in CDS before the end of Winter Quarter 2024
  • Deadline to apply: 11:59 pm, Wednesday, May 01, 2024 for the AY 2024-25 school year
  • The application for 2024-25 has closed
Learn more about our CDS Minors Scholarships

Graduate Student Teaching Assistantships

2024-25 Institute for Critical Disability Studies Graduate Teaching Assistants

Post last updated: September 2024

  • Applications are now closed
  • Number of positions: 2 or 3 Available
  • Duration: Fall 2024, Winter 2025, Spring 2025, and/or Full 2024-25 Academic Year
  • Deadline to apply: August 25, 2024 Update: The Application for 2024-25 has closed
Learn more about our graduate teaching assistant positions

Student Jobs

ICDS-sponsored jobs

AY 2024-25 Student Advisory Council Leadership Positions

Post last updated: July 2024

The ICDS Student Advisory Council (SAC) employs a number of paid leadership positions to support the student-run committee’s mission to create a safe and supportive space for disabled student and allies to foster a growing community of inclusion, accessibility, and disability culture, and to ensure that disabled students are represented and included at all levels of the Institute’s operations.

Openings will be updated on an as-needed basis.

  • Applications currently open: NONE
  • Applications currently closed for: Co-Presidents, Secretary, Social Media Coordinator
  • Current number of positions available: 0
  • Hourly rate: starts at $20/hr (Peer Advisor 2)
  • Number of hours: 2-4 hours per month (no more than 12 hours per quarter)
  • Deadline to apply: positions are open until filled
  • Links to job postings with full application instructions and application form:
    • Co-Presidents – no openings
    • Secretary – no openings
    • Social Media Coordinator – no openings
2024 UnConference Workshop and Panel Co-Facilitator

Post last updated: September 2024

  • Application deadline: 11:59 pm Friday, September 27, 2024 or until the positions are filled.
    • Applications will start to be evaluated on a rolling basis beginning on Monday, September 16, 2024.
  • Position eligibility:
    • Undergraduates
    • Graduate students (hourly nonsalaried position)
  • Number of positions: At least 6 available
  • Work Study also available for eligible students: YES – please contact icds@wwu.edu directly to inquire
  • Number of hours: 17 – 27 hours (includes training & orientation)
  • Availability required for these key dates (please specify if available in–person, virtual, or either):
    • Saturday, October 19, 2024
    • Sunday, October 20, 2024
  • This work opportunity is an ESE (Educational Student Employees) position covered by the Western Academic Workers United (WAWU) ♥ collective bargaining agreement ♥.
  • Deadline to apply: 11:59 pm, Friday, September 27, 2024 or until positions are filled.
  • Links to job postings with job requirements and full application instructions:
2024 UnConference Support Staff

Post last updated: September 2024

  • Application deadline: 11:59 pm Friday, September 27, 2024 or until the positions are filled.
    • Applications will start to be evaluated on a rolling basis beginning on Monday, September 16, 2024.
  • Position eligibility:
    • Undergraduates
    • Graduate students (hourly nonsalaried position)
  • Number of positions: At least 2 available
  • Work Study also available for eligible students: YES – please contact icds@wwu.edu directly to inquire
  • Number of hours: 17 – 24 hours (includes training & orientation)
  • Availability required for these key dates (please specify if available in–person, virtual, or either):
    • Saturday, October 19, 2024
    • Sunday, October 20, 2024
  • Deadline to apply: 11:59 pm, Friday, September 27, 2024 or until positions are filled.
  • Links to job postings with job requirements and full application instructions:

Fall 2024 UnConference Student Co-Facilitator and Support Staff positions are now open for staffing the 4th Annual UnConference. Applicants must be able to work both Saturday and Sunday, October 19 & 20, 2024.

Additional Job postings

Undergraduate Faculty Assistant position (work study)

Post last updated July 2024.

Daman Wandke is an Instructor who teaches Disability Studies courses and is looking for a teaching assistant (TA) to join his TA team. Learn more about job #68654 here (requires WWU login).

Please contact Daman Wandke wandked@wwu.edu with questions on current job availability.

Independent Study, Internship, and Directed Research Opportunities

Coming soon!

Contacting us with questions

Questions about ICDS scholarships and internships? Contact icds.scholarships@wwu2.onmicrosoft.com

Questions about ICDS graduate and undergraduate student employment? Contact icds@wwu.edu

Recent Posts in Scholarships and Student Employment

Archive

2023-24 Institute for Critical Disability Studies Graduate Teaching Assistants

  • Applications have closed for this quarter.
  • Number of positions: 2 or 3 Available
  • Duration: Fall 2023, Winter 2024, Spring 2024, and/or Full 2023-24 Academic Year
  • Deadline to apply: 11:59 pm, Friday, Augusst 25, 2023
AY 2023-24 Student Advisory Council Leadership Positions (workstudy & non-workstudy)

The ICDS Student Advisory Council (SAC) employs a number of paid leadership positions to support the student-run committee’s mission to create a safe and supportive space for disabled student and allies to foster a growing community of inclusion, accessibility, and disability culture, and to ensure that disabled students are represented and included at all levels of the Institute’s operations.

2023-24 Undergraduate Faculty Assistant position

Post last updated Fall 2023.

Daman Wandke is an Instructor who teaches Disability Studies courses and is looking for a teaching assistant (TA) to join his TA team. Learn more about job #66743 here (requires WWU login).

Please contact Daman Wandke wandked@wwu.edu with questions on current job availability.

2023 UnConference Workshop and Panel Co-Facilitator (workstudy & non-workstudy)

  • Application deadline: 11:59 pm Friday, September 29, 2023 or until the positions are filled.
    • Applications will be evaluated on a rolling basis beginning on Monday, September 2023.
  • Position eligibility:
    • Undergraduates (work study & non-workstudy)
    • Graduate students (hourly nonsalaried)
  • Number of positions: At least 6 available
  • Work Study also available for eligible students: YES – please contact icds@wwu.edu directly to inquire
  • Number of hours: 17 – 26 hours (includes training & orientation)
  • Availability required for these key dates:
    • Saturday, October 21, 2023
    • Sunday, October 22, 2023
  • Deadline to apply: 11:59 pm, Friday, September 29, 2023 or until positions are filled.
  • Links to job postings with full application instructions:
2023 UnConference Event Support Staff (workstudy & non-workstudy)

  • Application deadline: 11:59 pm Friday, September 29, 2023 or until the positions are filled.
    • Applications will be evaluated on a rolling basis beginning on Monday, September 2023.
  • Number of positions: At least 2 undergraduate position available
  • Work Study positions also available for eligible students: YES – contact icds@wwu.edu directly with inquiries.
  • Number of hours: 17 – 26 hours (includes training & orientation)
  • Availability required for these key dates:
    • Saturday, October 21, 2023
    • Sunday, October 22, 2023
  • Deadline to apply: 11:59 pm, Friday, September 29, 2023, but may close early if positions are filled before then.
  • Link to job postings with full application instructions:
Spring 2023 Student Advisory Council Leadership Positions (workstudy & non-workstudy)

  • Application is currently closed for co-presidents and co-secretaries.
  • Number of positions: At least 2 available
  • Work Study also available for eligible students: YES
  • Number of hours: 5-10 hours per quarter
  • Deadline to apply: positions are open until filled: check back in Fall for openings.
  • Link to job postings with full application instructions:
    • Co-Presidents
    • Co-Secretary
2022 UnConference Workshop and Panel Co-Facilitator (workstudy & non-workstudy)

2022 UnConference Event Support Staff (workstudy & non-workstudy)

AY 2022-23 Institute for Critical Disability Studies Graduate Teaching Assistants

Mark West Scholarship Application

The Mark West Scholarship will begin accepting applications for the 2024-25 Academic Year on March 01, 2024. The deadline for all materials will be 11:59 pm on May 01, 2024.

Award distribution: Fall
Award amount: $1,000
Deadline to submit the 2024 application: 11:59 pm, May 01, 2024
Deadline for letters of recommendation: 11:59 pm, May 01, 2024

Contact: icds@wwu.edu with questions

About the Scholarship

The Mark West Scholarship has been established to support students who are engaging in scholarship related to disability studies and accessibility. The award is also open to those who are contributing to disability culture at Western in non-academic ways, such as through arts, activism or advocacy work. This award is made possible by the generous donation of Maureen West, WWU trustee and Disability Studies advocate. Awards will be selected by the co-directors of the Institute for Critical Disability Studies. 

To apply, submit an application consisting of the following:

  • An application essay between 300 and 400 words
  • Letter of recommendation from a mentor, faculty member, or professional reference
  • Informal transcript, optional
  • Writing sample or supplemental materials, optional

Evaluation Criteria:

Applicants will be judged on three main criteria

  • Has the applicant demonstrated a high level of scholarly engagement with disability studies or disability- and access- related course work?
  • Has the applicant demonstrated a high level of extra-curricular engagement with disability-related arts, activism, or advocacy, either at Western or elsewhere?
  • Does the applicant demonstrate financial need for the award?

Application essays should focus on these three elements, if possible. However, applicants may be successful if they only demonstrate one of these elements. 

Letters of Recommendation

Recommendations should be around 300 words, and they should address the applicant’s academic potential or potential to contribute to campus culture. If possible, recommendations should also attest to the student’s potential for contributing in terms of disability-related academic work or advocacy.

Letters should be emailed by the recommender directly to icds.scholarship@wwu2.onmicrosoft.com.

Mark West Scholarship Application Form

Mark West Scholarship Application 2023

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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

Disability Studies Coursework: New and Forthcoming

About the Program & Minor
Upcoming classes
All Coursework
Archive by Quarter
What courses are available next quarter?

This page documents our current and upcoming coursework in Disability Studies!  We hope that you are excited to develop, teach, and/or enroll in them as well.  We also have a list of courses across the disciplines that could contribute to our new Minor in Critical Disability Studies as electives or topics courses. At the end of this page, we include an archive of recently offered courses and their descriptions.

Have we missed one? Please use this form to let us know about new courses in your unit relevant to Critical Disability Studies so that we can add them to our growing list!

The Critical Disability Studies Program & Minor

The disability studies academic program and DISA course prefix launched in AY 2022-23, and our Minor was just approved! Learn how to declare a Minor in Critical Disability Studies today! Read more about the academic program and its mission here and find us in the WWU course catalogue!

I want to add a Minor in CDS!

When will DISA coursework on [topic] be available?

Developing new curriculum and coursework is a gradual process.  Over the next several years, expect a number of new courses to be added to our growing list below.  Many new classes begin as experimental courses (numbered X97 in the course catalogue), which will then be transitioned to formally numbered DISA courses as the DS Minor and the new Institute for Critical Disability Studies grows.

Our Core DISA courses for the Minor in Critical Disability Studies

  • DISA 330 – Critical Disability Studies (BCGM GUR)
  • DISA 350 – Topics in Critical Disability Studies
  • DISA 450 – Capstone in Critical Disability Studies

DISA Courses Next Quarter

Spring 2024

  • DISA 330: Critical Disability Studies – GUR
    • Description: 5 Credits. BCGM GUR. This course provides an exploration of the field of critical disability studies. Students will learn about several central topics, including disability rights and disability justice movements, cultural criticism of literature and popular media, and the principles of universal design in physical and digital spaces. Students will explore disability as an identity category that intersects with other identity categories such as race, gender, and sexuality. This is an interdisciplinary course designed for students from any major.
    • Instruction: Andrew Lucchesi
    • Section details: remote asynchronous, CRN 23591
    • This is a Core Class in our Minor in Critical Disability Studies
  • DISA 350: Topics in Critical Disability Studies
    • Description: 5 Credits.
    • Instruction: Lindsay Foreman-Murray
    • Section details: in-person Bellingham, MW 10:00 – 11:50 am, CRN 23590
    • This course is crosslisted with SPED 310, and can count as either a Core Class or Elective in our Minor in Critical Disability Studies

Summer 2024

  • DISA 330: Critical Disability Studies – GUR
    • Description: 5 Credits. BCGM GUR. This course provides an exploration of the field of critical disability studies. Students will learn about several central topics, including disability rights and disability justice movements, cultural criticism of literature and popular media, and the principles of universal design in physical and digital spaces. Students will explore disability as an identity category that intersects with other identity categories such as race, gender, and sexuality. This is an interdisciplinary course designed for students from any major.
    • Instruction: Anika Tilland-Stafford
    • Section details: Remote Synchronous, 10 – 11:50 am MTWR , CRN 30656
    • This is a Core Class in our Minor in Critical Disability Studies

Coursework in Disability Studies: Current & In-Development

The list below is divided into DISA courses, new courses that are available or have recently been offered, and a list of courses that are in development and have not yet been made available on the course catalogue. You can now add a Minor or Interest in Critical Disability Studies!

  • XY01 – Critical Disability Studies Minor
  • XYIN – Critical Disability Studies Interest

DISA Courses in Critical Disability Studies:

Core Minor Courses

DISA 330 – Critical Disability Studies – BCGM GUR
  • DISA 330: Critical Disability Studies – GUR
    • Description: 5 Credits. BCGM GUR. This course provides an exploration of the field of critical disability studies. Students will learn about several central topics, including disability rights and disability justice movements, cultural criticism of literature and popular media, and the principles of universal design in physical and digital spaces. Students will explore disability as an identity category that intersects with other identity categories such as race, gender, and sexuality. This is an interdisciplinary course designed for students from any major.
    • Instruction: Daman Wandke, Kristen Chmielewski, Andrew Lucchesi
    • Section details: Varies: Asynchronous online; Face-to-face
    • Previous offerings: Spring 2023 (as DISA 397A); Summer 2023; Fa 2023
    • Next offering(s): Quarterly
    • This is a Core Class in our Minor in Critical Disability Studies
DISA 350 – Topics in Critical Disability Studies

DISA 450 – Capstone in Critical Disability Studies

DISA 397 – Critical Disability Studies (see DISA 330)
  • DISA 397: Critical Disability Studies
    • Description: 5 Credits. BCGM GUR. This course provides an exploration of the field of critical disability studies. Students will learn about several central topics, including disability rights and disability justice movements, cultural criticism of literature and popular media, and the principles of universal design in physical and digital spaces. Students will explore disability as an identity category that intersects with other identity categories such as race, gender, and sexuality. This is an interdisciplinary course designed for students from any major.
    • Instruction: Kristen Chmielewski
    • Section details: face-to-face
    • Previous offerings: Spring 2023 TR 10:00 – 11:50 am, CRN 24011
    • Next offering(s): N/A. This course is now offered as DISA 330.

Courses in Disability Studies throughout Western:

American Sign Language and Culture (ASLC*)

*Previously offered as EXCE courses

ASLC 101 (Prev. EXCE 101) – Elementary ASL/Culture (ACGM GUR)
  • Elementary ASL/Culture
    • Description: 5 Credits. ACGM GUR. This course provides practice in ASL conversational skills, regarding learning and giving signs as well as receiving signs and basic signs for everyday living. In addition, this course focuses upon worldwide deaf culture, historical aspects of deafness and the development of a variety of supports for the deaf community, especially in developing countries. ASL is the primary sign language used in North America, West Africa, and Southeast Asia. The course also provides for exploration of other systems of sign communication used internationally.
    • Instruction: Linda Boyd
    • Section offerings: Face-to-face
ASLC 102 (Prev. EXCE 102) – Elementary ASL II

ASLC 103 (Prev. EXCE 103) – Elementary ASL III

*Note: A maximum of one ASLC 10X courses can count as an elective for the Minor.

Computer Science (CSCI)

CSCI 497T / 597T – Accessible Computing
  • Accessible Computing
    • Title: Accessible Computing (graduate & undergraduate)
    • Description: 4 Credits
      • This project-based course introduces software accessibility principles. Students will learn how to design and build software for users with different abilities, e.g., people with visual impairments. Topics include:
        1. Interaction design for users with different abilities
        2. Ethics and human subject research
        3. Accessibility testing and evaluation techniques
        4. Open-source assistive technologies
        5. Machine learning for accessible computing
        6. Software engineering tools for accessible computing
        7. Mobile accessibility
        8. Wearable devices for people with disabilities
      • Prerequisites: CSCI 345 or instructor permission
    • Instruction: Yasmine Elglaly
    • Previously Offered: Fall 2021, CRN 44199, 44644
    • Future Offering(s): TBD

Disability and Advocacy (DIAD*)

*Previously offered as EXCE courses

DIAD 205 (Prev. EXCE 205) – Disability, Diversity, and the Mass Media (BCGM GUR)
  • Disability, Diversity, and the Mass Media
    • Description: 4 Credits. BCGM GUR. Introduction to the experience and perspectives of those with disabilities.
    • Instruction: Daman Wandke
    • Section details: online asynchronous & hybrid offerings
    • Offered every quarter!

English (ENG)

ENG 201 – Writing in the Humanities: Disability in YA Novels
  • ENG 201: Writing in the Humanities: Disability in YA Novels
    • Title: Representation of Disability in Books Written for Children and Young Adults
    • Description: 5 Credits; CCOM
      • English 201 is a composition course that offers advanced instruction and practice in writing using ideas, texts and questions from a specified topic in the humanities. This section of 201 will examine the social significance, cultural power, and personal influence—not to mention delight—of children’s books and young adult literature as the underlying topic of our research and writing. In particular, we’ll look at how disability is portrayed to children. 
    • Instruction: English Department Faculty; Cathy McDonald
    • Previously offered: Winter 2022, CRN 10765
ENG 301 – Disability and Public Writing
  • English 301: Writing and the Public Title: Disability and Public Writing
    • Description: 5 Credits. This course examines the concept of disability through a social and cultural lens, exploring its intersections with writing studies and the topic of public writing. We will think about what disability means in different contexts as it relates to rhetoric and public actions, such as activism and community building. We will observe that disability has long been a matter of public debate. In a traditional, medical context, we often think about disability as a medical issue, a disorder, or a physical or mental abnormality. As we will observe in this class, these medical definitions are severely limited and often rooted in accepted cultural biases about what is normal and which lives matter more than others. We will examine the ways we think about disability more broadly. What stories and cultural traditions tell us about whether it is good or bad to have a disability? What cultural values and political priorities have brought groups of disabled people together throughout history and still today? These questions will bring us into a much more dynamic and exciting conversation about what disability means, both for ourselves and for the world around us.
    • Instruction: Andrew Lucchesi
    • Section details: Online Asynchronous, CRN 30616
ENG 401 – Writing & Rhetoric: Disability Rhetoric
  • ENG 401: Writing & Rhetoric: Disability Rhetoric
    • Title: Sr Writing Studies / Rhet Sem: Disability Rhetoric
    • Description: 5 credits
      • Disability means different things depending on your point of view. From a medical perspective, disability has to do with the body. From a legal perspective, disability has to do with civil rights. From a rhetorician’s perspective, disability has to do with a wide range of stories, debates, tropes, biases, and identities. Our task in this course is to examine the different ways disability is and has been understood across different contexts. We will examine the growing movement of rhetorical study focused on disability, moving from classical rhetorical traditions to contemporary rhetorics of autism, mental disability, and the disabled body. We will see that in some situations, to be disabled is to be devoid of rhetorical power, to be forbidden from speaking for yourself. We will also see disability claimed as an asset of rhetorical power, a source of authority
      • Notes & Prerequisites: ENG 301 or ENG 302 or ENG 370 or ENG 371, or instructor permission; senior status.
    • Instruction: Andrew Lucchesi
    • Previously Offered: Fall 2021, CRN 44211
    • This class can count as an Elective for our Minor in Critical Disability Studies with Advisor/ICDS approval
ENG 418 – Disability & Literature (Senior Seminar)
  • ENG 418 – Senior Seminar in Disability & Literature
    • Description: 5 Credits. WP3. An advanced seminar offering an in-depth exploration of specialized topics. Requires students to develop scholarly projects integrating course material with their own literary, historical, and theoretical interests.
    • Instruction: Allison Giffen
    • Section details: face-to-face
    • Prerequisites: ENG prerequisites and senior status required
    • Recent offering(s): Spring 2023 TR 10:00 – 11:50 am, CRN 20415
    • Next offerings(s): TBD
ENG 397K – Cultural Disability Studies
  • ENG 397K: Cultural Disability Studies
    • Description: 5 cr; Humanities GUR
      • This course offers an introduction to the key philosophies and scholarly approaches of Disability Studies in the humanities. Students will study literature, film, and everyday texts to understand the concept of “disability” as a social and cultural phenomenon. Through their work in this class, students will develop an increased understanding of disability as a valuable form of diversity. Students will leave prepared to apply Disability Studies ideas and approaches to their future courses in almost any field in the social sciences, humanities, education, and beyond. This course will also provide a comprehensive basis for students interested in pursuing more advanced work in future Disability Studies courses.
    • Instruction: English Department Faculty; Andrew Lucchesi
    • Previously offered: Spring 2021
ENG 497D – Literature and Disability
  • ENG 497B: Literature and Disability: Disability in Nineteenth-Century US Literature and Culture
    • Description: 5 Credits. This course will introduce you to some of the foundational scholarship in Critical Disability Studies specifically as it pertains to literature and the cultural work of disability.  Focusing specifically on nineteenth-century US literature, we will explore representations of people with disabilities in literature, social perceptions of disability, and the perspective of writers with disabilities. One of the central goals of this course is to explore disability as a social construction and then investigate its fascinating intersections with other identity categories, including race, class, gender, and age. The nineteenth century offers us an especially rich cultural moment when identities like disability, childhood, and blackness and whiteness were becoming codified by way of enlightenment rationality, empirical science, and the nineteenth-century’s drive to classify. We will examine these intersecting and mutually constitutive identities as they are represented in short stories, poetry, and memoir. We will look to primary texts by Nathaniel Hawthorne, Rebecca Harding Dave, Charlotte Perkins Gilman, Emily Dickinson, and Elizabeth Packard, along with a variety of short stories published in St. Nicholas Magazine, an influential children’s periodical. And, we will read these primary materials alongside such disability scholars as Lennard Davis, Rosemarie Garland Thomson, Douglas C. Baynton, Nirmala Erevelles, and Mitchell and Snyder.
    • Instruction: Allison Giffen
    • Prerequisites: Eng 202 or Instructor permission
    • Section details: face-to-face
    • Next Offering: Fall 2023, MWF 1:00-2:20, IS 242, CRN 44113.
    • This class can count as an Elective for our Minor in Critical Disability Studies with Advisor/ICDS approval

Human Services

HSP 443 – Disability: Individuals and Systems

Leadership Studies (LDST)

LDST 416 – Disability Inclusivity in Leadership
  • LDST 416: Disability Inclusivity in Leadership
    • Title: Disability Inclusivity in Leadership
    • Description: 3 credits
      • People with disabilities are diverse in their range of abilities and intersect with every other identity. One in five people has a disability. As leaders, do we know how to be inclusive to people with disabilities in our work? In LDST 416, you will learn the often-untold history of the U.S. Disability Rights Movement and explore the current issues facing people with disabilities. Learn how to be more inclusive in your current and future leadership efforts through the journey of a disability rights activist, diverse essays about disability, and disability sensitivity training. We end the course by exploring a topic you choose related to the future of disability rights through a project. Daman is a national disability rights advocate, entrepreneur, and instructor. As a WWU student, Daman led the effort to create the A.S. Disability Outreach Center. Daman consults on disability topics for organizations small and large, across the country. He now teaches a course on Disability, Diversity, and the Mass Media here at WWU.
      • The course prerequisite is LDST 101, or email morse.institute@wwu.edu for an override.
    • Instruction: Daman Wandke
    • Previously Offered: Fall 2021, CRN 43344
    • Contact:  morse.institute@wwu.edu

Religion (REL)

REL 330 – Religion and Disability
  • REL 330:  Religion and Disability
    • Description: 5 cr; BCGM GUR
      • This discussion-based course resituates the study of religion within a Critical Disability Studies framework in order to register the prismatic, ambivalent relationships between human variation and religious traditions. By pairing recent scholarship with literature, film, and other textual materials, it foregrounds the ways that, historically speaking, religions have not only structured possibilities for people with disabilities, but also have provided opportunities for disabled people to create alternative lifeworlds and imagine otherwise futures.
    • Instruction: Department of Global Humanities and Religions; Kathleen Brian
    • Previously offered: Fall 2021
    • Contact: GHR@wwu.edu

Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies (WGSS)

WGSS 367 – Feminist Disability Studies
  • WGSS 367: Feminist Disability Studies
    • Description: 5 Credits. This class explores the fields of Disability Studies and Feminist Studies to see what each can bring to the other.
    • Instruction: Anika Tilland-Stafford
    • Previous offerings: 
    • Next offering(s): Fall 2023

Courses in development:

  • CSEC 397x: Disability and Access in the Sciences

    • Title: CSEC 397x: Disability and Access: the Academy, STEM, and Universal Design
    • Description: TBD
    • Instruction: College of Science & Engineering Faculty; G McGrew

For faculty: Have new courses to add to the list? Please use this form: wp.wwu.edu/disabilitycollaborative/courses/add-new/.

Recent Coursework Archive by Quarter

We’ll be keeping a list of our offered courses and their descriptions archived in this section.

Winter 2024

DISA 330 – Critical Disability Studies
  • DISA 330: Critical Disability Studies – GUR
    • Description: 5 Credits. BCGM GUR. This course provides an exploration of the field of critical disability studies. Students will learn about several central topics, including disability rights and disability justice movements, cultural criticism of literature and popular media, and the principles of universal design in physical and digital spaces. Students will explore disability as an identity category that intersects with other identity categories such as race, gender, and sexuality. This is an interdisciplinary course designed for students from any major.
    • Instruction: Kristen Chmielewski
    • Section details: in-person Bellingham, TR 02:00-03:50 pm, CRN 13823
    • This is a Core Class in our Minor in Critical Disability Studies
DISA 350 – Topics in Critical Disability Studies: Disability Moves
  • DISA 350: Topics in Critical Disability Studies: Disability Moves
    • Description: 5 Credits. This course examines disability in dance through investigating choreographers, dancers, educators, and activists. Students will engage in readings, viewings and discussions to culminate in a research project of their choosing. On occasion class may take place in a dance studio environment.
    • Instruction: Pam Kuntz
    • Section details: in-person Bellingham, TR 10:00-11:50 am, CRN 13822
    • This can count as either a Core Class or Elective in our Minor in Critical Disability Studies
ENG 401 – Writing & Rhetoric: Disability Rhetoric
  • ENG 401: Writing & Rhetoric: Disability Rhetoric
    • Title: Sr Writing Studies / Rhet Sem: Disability Rhetoric
    • Description: 5 credits. Disability means different things depending on your point of view. From a medical perspective, disability has to do with the body. From a legal perspective, disability has to do with civil rights. From a rhetorician’s perspective, disability has to do with a wide range of stories, debates, tropes, biases, and identities. Our task in this course is to examine the different ways disability is and has been understood across different contexts. We will examine the growing movement of rhetorical study focused on disability, moving from classical rhetorical traditions to contemporary rhetorics of autism, mental disability, and the disabled body. We will see that in some situations, to be disabled is to be devoid of rhetorical power, to be forbidden from speaking for yourself. We will also see disability claimed as an asset of rhetorical power, a source of authority
    • Notes & Prerequisites: ENG 301 or ENG 302 or ENG 370 or ENG 371, or instructor permission; senior status.
    • Instruction: Andrew Lucchesi
    • This class can count as an Elective for our Minor in Critical Disability Studies with Advisor/ICDS approval! Contact icds@wwu.edu
HNRS 350 – Disability Inequality and Advocacy in the United States
  • HNRS 350: Disability Inequality and Advocacy in the United States
    • Title: Honors Seminar – Disability Inequality and Advocacy in the United States
    • Description: 3 credits. Historian Douglas C. Baynton writes, “Disability is everywhere in history, once you begin looking for it, but conspicuously absent in the histories we write.” Building upon that idea, disability is everywhere in society. Ideas about disability shape our language—“the blind leading the blind”—and our insults. Disability provides motivation for villains in children’s movies, like Captain Hook, and moments of tragic catharsis in classic literature, like in Of Mice and Men. Disability shapes educational policies, practices, and curriculum while also affecting employment policies, like subminimum wage and retirement and disability benefits and stipulations. Everyone, if they live long enough, will experience disability at some point in their lives. Disability is everywhere in the United States but is conspicuously absent from most conversations of identity, justice, and equity.
      In this seminar, students explore the historical roots of current issues faced by the disabled community to examine how definitions of disability have changed over time and how current injustices are engineered and enforced rather than inevitable and natural. Each week will focus on a different facet of life—law, education, the medical system, immigration, media representation, recreation, and employment—with one class covering readings and discussion that provide historical context and the other focusing on readings, discussion, and activities related to current issues. The culminating work in the course will be a “Disability Excavation” project in which the students conduct original archival research—either in the WWU archives or online—to trace the history and evolution of a disability issue they have encountered in their own lives or in their field.
    • Notes & Prerequisites: Requires admission to Honors College; Jr or Senior status
    • Instruction: Kristen Chmielewski
    • This class can count as an Elective for our Minor in Critical Disability Studies with Advisor/ICDS approval! Contact icds@wwu.edu

Fall 2023

DISA 330 – Critical Disability Studies
  • DISA 330: Critical Disability Studies – GUR
    • Description: 5 Credits. BCGM GUR. This course provides an exploration of the field of critical disability studies. Students will learn about several central topics, including disability rights and disability justice movements, cultural criticism of literature and popular media, and the principles of universal design in physical and digital spaces. Students will explore disability as an identity category that intersects with other identity categories such as race, gender, and sexuality. This is an interdisciplinary course designed for students from any major.
    • Instruction: Daman Wandke
    • Section details: online asynchronous, CRN 44074, 44496
    • This is a Core Class in our Minor in Critical Disability Studies
WGSS 367 – Feminist Disability Studies
  • WGSS 367: Feminist Disability Studies
    • Description: 5 Credits. This class explores the fields of Disability Studies and Feminist Studies to see what each can bring to the other.
      • Unraveling ableist norms and structures is intersectional work, it is decolonizing and anti-racist work, and it is feminist and queer. We live in a settler colonial context where hetero/patriarchy instituted gender hierarchies, regulated sexuality, and classified bodies as holding greater and lesser value along ableist and capitalist lines. All of these foundations and structures limit bodily sovereignty, the capacity to be self-determining agents who live with the right to connection and authority over our bodies.
        In Feminist Disability Studies we will examine historical fudations that unpin ableist constructions of citizenship and belonging as well as differing approaches to movements for disability justice. Throughout the course we will emphasize Intersectional Bodily Sovereignty with topics such as embodiment, sexuality, and food. Students will have the opportunity to bring their own disciplinary and creative work to the course.
    • Instruction: Anika Tilland-Stafford
    • Section details: Remote Synchronous, MW 04:00-06:20 pm, CRN 42943
    • This class counts as an Elective for our Minor in Critical Disability Studies!
ENG 497D – Literature and Disability: Disability in Nineteenth-Century US Literature and Culture
  • ENG 497D: Literature and Disability: Disability in Nineteenth-Century US Literature and Culture
    • Description: 5 Credits. This course will introduce you to some of the foundational scholarship in Critical Disability Studies specifically as it pertains to literature and the cultural work of disability.  Focusing specifically on nineteenth-century US literature, we will explore representations of people with disabilities in literature, social perceptions of disability, and the perspective of writers with disabilities. One of the central goals of this course is to explore disability as a social construction and then investigate its fascinating intersections with other identity categories, including race, class, gender, and age. The nineteenth century offers us an especially rich cultural moment when identities like disability, childhood, and blackness and whiteness were becoming codified by way of enlightenment rationality, empirical science, and the nineteenth-century’s drive to classify. We will examine these intersecting and mutually constitutive identities as they are represented in short stories, poetry, and memoir. We will look to primary texts by Nathaniel Hawthorne, Rebecca Harding Dave, Charlotte Perkins Gilman, Emily Dickinson, and Elizabeth Packard, along with a variety of short stories published in St. Nicholas Magazine, an influential children’s periodical. And, we will read these primary materials alongside such disability scholars as Lennard Davis, Rosemarie Garland Thomson, Douglas C. Baynton, Nirmala Erevelles, and Mitchell and Snyder.
    • Instruction: Allison Giffen
    • Section details: face-to-face, MWF 1:00-2:20, IS 242, CRN 44113.
    • Prerequisites: Eng 202 or Instructor permission
    • This class can count as an Elective for our Minor in Critical Disability Studies with Advisor/ICDS approval

Summer 2023

DISA 330 – Critical Disability Studies – NEW OFFERING + GUR!
  • DISA 330 – Critical Disability Studies – NEW OFFERING + GUR!
    • Description: 5 Credits. BCGM GUR. This course provides an exploration of the field of critical disability studies. Students will learn about several central topics, including disability rights and disability justice movements, cultural criticism of literature and popular media, and the principles of universal design in physical and digital spaces. Students will explore disability as an identity category that intersects with other identity categories such as race, gender, and sexuality. This is an interdisciplinary course designed for students from any major.
    • Instruction: Daman Wandke
    • Section details: online asynchronous, CRN 31022
ENG 301 – Disability and Public Writing
  • English 301: Writing and the Public
    • Title: Disability and Public Writing
    • Description: 5 Credits. This course examines the concept of disability through a social and cultural lens, exploring its intersections with writing studies and the topic of public writing. We will think about what disability means in different contexts as it relates to rhetoric and public actions, such as activism and community building. We will observe that disability has long been a matter of public debate. In a traditional, medical context, we often think about disability as a medical issue, a disorder, or a physical or mental abnormality. As we will observe in this class, these medical definitions are severely limited and often rooted in accepted cultural biases about what is normal and which lives matter more than others. We will examine the ways we think about disability more broadly. What stories and cultural traditions tell us about whether it is good or bad to have a disability? What cultural values and political priorities have brought groups of disabled people together throughout history and still today? These questions will bring us into a much more dynamic and exciting conversation about what disability means, both for ourselves and for the world around us.
    • Instruction: Andrew Lucchesi
    • Section details: Online Asynchronous, CRN 30616

Spring 2023

DISA 397A – Critical Disability Studies – NEW (*counts as DISA 330 for the Minor)
  • DISA 397A – Critical Disability Studies – NEW!
    • Description: 5 Credits. This course provides an exploration of the field of critical disability studies. Students will learn about several central topics, including disability rights and disability justice movements, cultural criticism of literature and popular media, and the principles of universal design in physical and digital spaces. Students will explore disability as an identity category that intersects with other identity categories such as race, gender, and sexuality. This is an interdisciplinary course designed for students from any major.
    • Instruction: Kristen Chmielewski
    • Section details: face-to-face, TR 10:00 – 11:50 am, CRN 24011
    • Notes: In AY 2023-34, Critical Disability Studies will run as DISA 330, a GUR that will be offered in face-to-face as well as hybrid/remote modalities
ENG 410 – Disability & Literature (Senior Seminar)
  • ENG 418 – Senior Seminar in Disability & Literature
    • Description: 5 Credits. WP3. An advanced seminar offering an in-depth exploration of specialized topics. Requires students to develop scholarly projects integrating course material with their own literary, historical, and theoretical interests.
    • Instruction: Allison Giffen
    • Section details: face-to-face, TR 10:00 – 11:50 am, CRN 20415, ENG prerequisites and senior status required.
EXCE 205 – Disability, Diversity, and the Mass Media (BCGM GUR)
  • EXCE 205: Disability, Diversity, and the Mass Media
    • Description: 4 Credits. BCGM GUR. Introduction to the experience and perspectives of those with disabilities.
    • Instruction: Daman Wandke
    • Section details: online asynchronous & hybrid offerings
      • CRN 22683, T 2-3:50 pm, Hybrid
      • CRN 22684, T 4-5:50 pm, Hybrid
      • CRN 23620, W 2-3:50 pm, Hybrid
      • CRN 24071, online asynchronous
EXCE 101 – Elementary ASL/Culture (ACGM GUR)
  • EXCE 101: Elementary ASL/Culture
    • Description: 5 Credits. ACGM GUR.
    • Instruction: Linda Boyd
    • Section Details: Face-to-face. MW 1-3:20 pm, CRN 23229 & 23660