Disability Studies and Action Collaborative

Disability Culture, Scholarship, and Community

Posts tagged with: Disability Studies Minor

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 Minor Task Force, ICDS Curriculum Committee, staff, and students who provided feedback during the development process.

About DISA 397A: Critical Disability Studies

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.

Course Summary

  • DISA 397A – Critical Disability Studies (5 Credits) – Spring 2023
    • CRN: 24011 (cap: 32)
    • Meeting: TR 10-11:50am, face-to-face, B’ham campus
    • Instructor: Kristen Chmielewski
    • Prerequisites: ENG 101

Catalog Description

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).

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.

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

Interim co-directors announced for Spring & Summer 2022

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:

  • Andrew Lucchesi (he/him)
    • lucchea@wwu.edu
  • GIM (he/they)
    • mcgrewg2@wwu.edu

Permanent co-directors will begin their roles in Fall of 2022.

Additional disability studies course offerings coming soon!

Winter Quarter 2022

Looking forward to a forthcoming disability studies minor, many faculty at Western across many disciplines have been working on adapting their courses to cross-list with the newly-approved DISA course prefix, as well as developing new coursework entirely.

Check out our current growing list of courses completed or in development here (link).  And of course, the Curriculum Committee would love to hear from any faculty interested in adding their coursework or developing coursework to contribute to this interdisciplinary program!

Listening Sessions – Disability Studies and Action Collaborative

Disability at Western Listening Sessions

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.

Advertising poster for listening sessions. All text on poster is included

Click here to enlarge and download poster

Topics for discussion will include:

  • Building a new interdisciplinary minor in Disability Studies
  • Creating new courses across the majors that address issues of disability culture, access, and ableism
  • Establishing a new cross-department institute in Disability Studies
  • Discussing campus accessibility issues
  • Addressing issues of ableism and unfair treatment of students and faculty with disabilities
  • Building networks between Western and the surrounding community on issues of disability

We are holding listening sessions for both students and faculty:

Listening Sessions for Students

  • Tue, Feb 18, 2pm in VU 552
  • Thu, Feb 27, 12pm in SL 150
  • Mon, Mar 2, 3pm in HH 153

Listening Sessions for Faculty

  • Fri, Feb 14, 4pm in CV 103
  • Fri, Feb 21, 1pm in HU 107
  • Thu, Feb 27, 5pm in CV 103
  • Tue, Mar 3, 3pm in CV 104

For more information, please contact disabilitystudies.wwu@gmail.com