Disability Studies and Action Collaborative
Disability Culture, Scholarship, and Community
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) salaried, and hourly (5-9 hr/wk) nonsalaried positions available.
Learn more and review the GTA position information and application instructions here.
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 Minor Task Force, ICDS Curriculum Committee, staff, and students who provided feedback during the development process.
DISA 397A: Critical Disability Studies is a 5-credit course being offered by the Institute for Critical Disability Studies this Spring at the WWU Bellingham campus. This course presents an interdisciplinary exploration of the field of Critical Disability Studies, and is appropriate for students of all majors and concentrations. Stay tuned for future offerings of this course with the permanent course number DISA 330 in AY 2023-4, with plans to offer multiple sections in face-to-face and remote/hybrid modalities.
We hope that you will share this course information with students widely. A summary of the class details and a promotional graphic to share is included below.
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.
Click to download the DISA 397A promo graphic shown below (opens in a new tab).
Suggested alt text: Promotional graphic advertising the Institute for Critical Disability Studies’ new Spring 2023 course, DISA 397A, Critical Disability Studies: an interdisciplinary exploration of the field of Critical Disability Studies for students of all majors and concentrations! Key topics include disability rights and disability justice movements, universal design, disability as intersectional identity, and cultural criticism of literature and media. Professor Chmielewski, Tuesday and Thursdays from 10 am to 11:50 am, 5 credits. Course CRN number 24011.
-Posted by GIM, ICDS co-director
The Institute for Critical Disability Studies (ICDS) is now accepting applications for paid student staffing positions to support the 2022 Disability Studies and Action Collaborative UnConference, happening Saturday & Sunday, October 22 & 23 at the Western Washington University Bellingham campus.
Please check out the job descriptions linked below, and share widely!
These positions are available for current WWU undergraduate students. Application deadline for all UnConference staffing positions is Friday, September 30, 2022. Learn more about student employment opportunities with the ICDS here or contact icds.unconference@wwu2.onmicrosoft.com with questions.
The Institute for Critical Disability Studies is hiring for two new graduate teaching assistant (GTA) positions for the 2022-2023 academic year! You can learn more and review the GTA position information and application instructions here.
Thank you to everyone who contributed to the Institute for Critical Disability Studies’ very first WWU Give Day! Stay tuned as we will be hosting our next UnConference in the Fall and also launching a new ICDS Fellows Program.
If you missed it, you can still give at https://alumniq.wwu.edu/giving/to/GiveDay2022 by selecting “Other” category and searching for Institute for Critical Disability Studies.
Winter Quarter 2022
Andrew Lucchesi and GIM (G McGrew) will be working as the interim co-directors of the Institute for Spring and Summer 2022. GIM and Andrew will be helping establish the institute’s first priorities, including hosting events, establishing a new scholarship program, and creating connections between faculty and students around disability studies work.
You are invited to reach out to them:
Permanent co-directors will begin their roles in Fall of 2022.
March 21, 2022
It’s happening!
After submitting a full proposal for the institute at the beginning of Summer 2021 and lengthy negotiation with the Provost’s office, the Disability Studies and Action Collaborative is pleased to announce that the Provost’s office has agreed to establish our new Institute for Critical Disability Studies for Spring 2022 and Fall 2022.
Our next stages in the institute formation include selection of interim co-directors for the institute to work with the Interim Advisory Council and the DS Steering Committee during Spring and Summer 2022; working on institute bylaws including organization and committee structures; and to hold a formal search process for two co-director roles to start in Fall 2022.
We are looking forward to building community alongside these administrative elements by continuing to hold events, from student-centered engagements to faculty-facing professional development opportunities.
Thank you for joining us as we continue this exciting journey!
From February 23 to March 4th, the Disability Studies Steering Committee is holding virtual “listening sessions” with Western Community Members. These sessions are sponsored by students, faculty, and staff working on issues related to disability and access at Western, and now we are currently forming an Institute on Disability Studies.
Read more on our process here: https://wp.wwu.edu/disabilitycollaborative/proposing-the-disability-studies-institute/
We are holding listening sessions for both students and faculty at these:
If you cannot make these listening sessions, or if you would like to also provide feedback in another way, you are invited to respond to this survey, which will be open during the months of February and March 2021:
https://wwu.az1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_09xQCMZl8PNK50O?Source=wppost
We are here! En route to the formation of a Disability Studies Institute at Western, we are soliciting feedback from the Western community via a second round of Listening Sessions and a survey. There are still more steps ahead of us, but we are excited to share this journey with you!
For more information, please contact disabilitystudies.wwu@gmail.com
From February 14th to March 3rd, the Disability Studies and Action Collaborative is holding “listening sessions” with faculty and students from around campus. These sessions are sponsored by students, faculty, and staff who are working on issues related to disability and access at Western.
Click here to enlarge and download poster
We are holding listening sessions for both students and faculty:
For more information, please contact disabilitystudies.wwu@gmail.com