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Fall 2012 Newsletter

Fall Newsletter: Volume 5, Issue 2 (Download the newsletter in PDF)

Contents

Letter from the President

Autumn is here and the SDS board is back at it after a really fantastic week in Denver! Thanks for a great time, SDS! As always, we, the board, enjoyed the rare opportunity to collaborate in person with an all-day meeting on Wednesday and a strategic planning summit on Sunday. I so appreciate the organizational savvy of the AHEAD staff and continue to marvel at what an all-volunteer board is able to accomplish. As you know, our foremost goal at present is to achieve full financial independence and to support our own Executive office. I am pleased to let you know that we balanced the budget for Denver 2012 and are looking forward to the support of the National Institute of Health for a conference strand at SDS 2013 and 2014 on Translational Research on Disability Studies and the Health Sciences (kudos to Pam Block and Devva Kasnitz!).

Joan Ostrove, Stephan Hamlin-Smith and I are undertaking a two-tiered fundraising campaign that will work its way from the Board and our membership out to others who have an interest in disability issues. As such, we have been thinking a lot about what it means to be a member of SDS. Here are just some of the initiatives your dollars support:

  • an optimally inclusive annual conference and membership dues structure
  • DSQ, the premiere open-access, HTML-accessible, peer-reviewed journal in disability studies
  • the Chris Bell Memorial Scholarship and general scholarships to support attendance at the annual SDS conference
  • awards & prizes to recognize outstanding contributions to disability studies:
  • President’s Award for Outstanding Contribution through art and/or activism
  • Senior Scholar Award (see call for nominations herein)
  • Irving K. Zola Prize for Emerging Scholarship in Disability Studies (call’s also here)
  • Tanis Doe and other prizes to recognize outstanding contributions to the annual poster session
  • Tyler Rigg annual award for best article published in DSQ.
  • the Affiliated Scholar Program (see call for proposals herein)
  • the electronic listserv for sds members, an on-line community for disseminating information and building community
  • SDS’s core operations

Our presence on-line is obviously a key component of our outreach. In my view, for maximum impact on disability issues, SDS must reshape its on-line presence to translate for anyone “visiting” the multi-faceted definitions & impact of disability studies and their relevance to everyone. I welcome any suggestions or submissions in this regard—please don’t hesitate to contact me.

Lastly, I want to thank the program committee for its work in crafting a phenomenal call for papers. In Orlando, we will be piloting a limited number of virtual presentations according to specific criteria that you will find in the CFP. Can’t wait to see you next summer, SDS!

Tammy | berberit@morris.umn.edu

President 2012-14, SDS

Call for Proposals

26th annual meeting of the Society for Disability Studies

**NOTE DATE ADJUSTMENT: Wednesday, June 26th – Saturday, June 29, 2013

Doubletree-by-Hilton at the Entrance to Universal Studios

Orlando, Florida

(Re) creating Our Lived Realities

Submission portal opened on October 4, 2012 at http://www.disstudies.org

Deadline for submissions: November 21, 2012

In honor of its 26th annual meeting convening in Orlando, Florida – the land of make-believe, the home of Disney World and Universal Studios – the program committee of the Society for Disability Studies would like to encourage you to think about the ways in which we create and re-create our lived realities. We would like you to think not only about disabled people as complexly embodied historical actors, but also about the many social, economic, physiological, and political forces that shape, and often constrain, our lived realities. As people situated at the intersection of local and global histories, systems, and structures, we are constantly shaping and molding our social, cultural, and built environment(s). And they in turn affect us in innumerable ways. Nothing we do or say, or have done, can be divorced from its social and historical context, nor can it be isolated from the many human relations through which it emerges. While all proposals that explore these themes are welcome, the program committee especially seeks to solicit work that explores the interesting interactions among larger systems or structures, such as global capitalism, neoliberalism, militarism, and our immediate corporeal experiences – pleasure, pain, sex, illness, debility, a ride at Disney World or a walk through Epcot Center.

We offer the following broad questions to foster interdisciplinary perspectives and encourage interdisciplinary collaboration:

  • What are the many ways in which disabled people have conceptualized and enacted changes to the built environment and to the many things with which we interact on a daily basis? What barriers do people who experience disability face? How have these things changed over time?
  • What happens when local understandings, strategies, and ways of being meet up with more globalizing ones?
  • What new possibilities for change do such intersections produce, and, alternatively, where do we find disconnects that thwart cooperation?
  • How have various technologies–and access to them–shaped the formation of disabled identities and cultures, as well as interpersonal and group relationships?
  • In what ways are the realities we create bounded or shaped by geographic location, institutional formation, identity politics, and other factors?
  • What do collisions between the local and the global reveal about our experiences? What do they obscure?
  • How have disability politics and activism shaped not only the built environment, but human relations as well?
  • How does enduring poverty, racism, sexism, homophobia, and the persistence of the medical and charity model shape / limit access to the many realities we create in our lives? How do these factors also open possibilities? How have these factors enhanced disability rights?
  • How have the various disciplines within disability studies explored and analyzed the built environment? What are the strengths and weaknesses of these approaches?
  • How have/might the various disciplines and fields within disability studies work across disciplinary boundaries to enhance the quality of our lives?
  • How have/might disability studies reach out to local and national organizations and institutions to influence families, religious communities, service providers, political institutions, employers, etc.?
  • How does a focus on Lived Realities influence research methods, theory, and the underpinnings of disability scholarship and practice?
  • How have prevailing (contemporary) paradigms (or narratives) succeeded or failed in capturing “our lived realities”?

We welcome proposals in all areas of disability studies, especially those submissions premised on this year’s theme.

This year’s program committee is continuing the idea of specific “strands” that relate to the larger more general theme of the SDS conference. Each strand may have 3 or 4 related events (e.g. panels, workshops), organized to occur throughout the conference and in a way that will eliminate any overlap of sessions in an effort to facilitate a more sustained discussion of specific issues that have arisen as areas of interest within the organization. Our planned strands this year are as follows. Others may emerge from member proposals:

  • Florida / Southern movement history: The DRM has a rich history of disability activism in the South that offers tremendous opportunity for exploration.
  • Communities / Identities and disability studies: Members would like to continue these areas of discussion from our conference last year in Denver. Explore challenges and possibilities that shape collaboration, culture, and community for people who experience disability.
  • Power and privilege: Ongoing discussions among SDS board members, members of SDS caucuses, and others led to this strand, intended to look both at the workings of power and privilege broadly and within SDS itself.
  • Professional development: This strand addresses a need identified by many of our members for professional development, including matters such as locating funding, pursuing academic and non-academic jobs, surviving the tenure track, etc.
  • Translational research in disability studies and health sciences: Using translational research here to refer to research that translates between disciplines, and from basic research to applied research and to practice, the goals of this NIH-related conference strand are:
    • (1) to demonstrate how disability studies theory contributes to the conception of health sciences research and practice; (2) to provide best practice examples of disability studies translational research and practice; and (3) to mentor a new generation of federally funded    disability studies researchers and practitioners. We particularly welcome submissions from disabled clinicians/clinical researchers interested in cutting edge disability studies perspectives.

The full Call for Proposals, including specific submission information, is available at www.disstudies.org.

For further information contact the Program Committee of the SDS 2013 program committee at SDSprogram@disstudies.org.

Welcome to Florida! The Sunshine State!

  • The state’s name derives from Spanish and means “feast of flowers” (Easter)
  • Orlando is Florida’s 6th largest city with a population of 238,300.
  • In 2010 over 54 million people visited Orlando for vacation or business, making it one of the largest tourist destinations on Earth.
  • Florida is larger than England and Wales, Greece or Hungary.
  • Florida has about 7,800 lakes.
  • No part of Florida is more than 60 miles (96 km) from its famous beaches. The median temperature in June in Florida is…hot.
  • Orange juice was proclaimed as the official state beverage by the Florida Legislature in 1967.
  • The alligator was designated the official state reptile by the 1987 Legislature.
  • Florida is known has been known as “The Sunshine State,” since 1970.
  • Spaceship Earth is an 18-story geosphere at Epcot Center.

Hotel Information

http://www.doubletreeorlando.com/

The 2013 conference will be held at the Double-by-Hilton at the Entrance to Universal Studios (http://www.doubletreeorlando.com) in Double-by-Hilton at the entrance to Universal Studios located in the heart of Orlando, Florida, just steps from the Universal Orlando Resort, the DoubleTree by Hilton at the Entrance to Universal Orlando is the ideal destination for both business and leisure travelers. With our close proximity to Orlando’s Orange County Convention Center, world-famous theme parks, trendy shops, renowned restaurants, exciting attractions and entertainment and recreational venues, the hotel is the ideal retreat for vacationing families and corporate groups – putting a world of excitement at your fingertips.

** Why have the dates of SDS 2013 been changed? The Doubletree offered SDS some very attractive incentives to move the conference dates out (later) by one week, including an astonishing room rate of $99/night (single/double/triple/quad) and complimentary high-speed internet in all guest rooms and everywhere else in the hotel. We jumped at the chance to save SDS members some money!

To accommodate conference attendees who would like to come early, or stay late to take advantage of the area, the Doubletree will also honor the SDS group rate up to three days before and three days after the conference itself.

Accessible Tourism

Here’s a web-site about accessibility at Universal Orlando: http://www.universalorlando.com/Resort-Information/Accessibility-Information.aspx

and another about accessibility at Disney World:

http://www.wdwinfo.com/wdwinfo/disabmobility.htm

Any questions about accommodations and amenities can be sent to info@disstudies.org.

SDS Awards

Call for Nominations: 2013 SDS Senior Scholar Award

SDS invites nominations for the 2013 SDS Senior Scholar Award. The award will be presented at the 2013 SDS Conference, to be held in Denver, Colorado. Please consider nominating mentors and colleagues who have shaped the field of disability studies. Past awardees include Carol Gill (2012), Tobin Siebers (2011), Rosemarie Garland Thomson (2010), Elizabeth Depoy and Stephen Gilson (2009), and Steve Taylor (2008).

GENERAL QUALIFICATIONS for an SDS Senior Scholar include:

  • a terminal degree in his/her relevant field (PhD, EdD, MFA, DOT, DPT, etc.)
  • a minimum of a decade of experience as a scholar in the field (such experience can include published scholarship, creative/artistic production, significant grants/applied research, or other equivalent activities).
  • scholarship that has made a significant contribution to and/or impact on the field of Disability Studies.
  • demonstrated excellence in and commitment to teaching, mentoring, or other kinds of leadership.

There are no restrictions on a nominee’s discipline or area of study (films, performances, on-line publications, traditional academic books and articles are all viewed as equally acceptable and deserving of recognition). People who are not members of SDS are eligible for the Senior Scholar Award.

RESTRICTIONS

Members of the SDS Board are ineligible for the award during their tenure on the board.

SDS SENIOR SCHOLAR APPLICATION

The following must be submitted for an individual to be considered for the award:

  • A brief letter of nomination. We encourage self-nominations, as well as nominations of other individuals. If you wish to nominate someone other than yourself, please consult with that individual. We will ask that individual to confirm that she/he is willing to be considered.
  • A minimum of two letters of support from individuals other than the nominee.
  • A copy of the nominee’s CV.
  • Contact information for the nominee.

Additional material may be requested (i.e., if the review committee is unable to locate and/or retrieve the nominee’s materials through databases and libraries). Application packets can be sent electronically to: info@disstudies.org with SENIOR SCHOLAR in the subject line. Materials sent via USPS should be sent via registered mail to Executive Office, Society for Disability Studies, 107 Commerce Center Drive Suite 204, Huntersville, NC 28078, USA.

AWARD:

The recipient of the SDS Senior Scholar Award will receive the following recognition:

  • a reserved slot to give a presentation at the 2013 SDS Conference;
  • her/his name permanently posted on the SDS Website as a recipient of the award;
  • a certificate of recognition.

TIMELINE

Complete applications must be received by February 1, 2013.  The 2013 recipient will be announced on or around April 15th.

Irving K. Zola Award for Emerging Scholars in Disability Studies

The Society for Disability Studies (SDS) is pleased to announce the 2013 Irving K. Zola Award for Emerging Scholars in Disability Studies. Funded through the generosity of the late Professor Zola’s colleagues at Brandeis University, this annual award recognizes excellence in research and writing that shares the values and commitment to disability studies exemplified by Irving K. Zola’s life and scholarship.

ELIGIBILITY

  • The Zola Award is given to an emerging scholar in disability studies. A typical nominee completed a Ph.D. within the past seven years and does not yet have tenure. However, applications will also be accepted from independent scholars with or without degrees and those who received their degrees earlier but only recently moved into the area of disability studies. Emerging scholars who work in non-academic settings are also welcome to apply. Anyone who is currently enrolled in a graduate degree program or who has less than seven years of career experience in the field of Disability Studies is eligible to apply.
  • The research submitted must be relevant to disability studies, which we define broadly to include the examination of concepts and values related to disability in all forms of cultural representation throughout history, as well as analyses which deepen our understanding of the personal and social dimensions of the lived experience of disability.

RESTRICTIONS

  • In a given year, an applicant may submit only one paper for consideration.
  • Past awardees are not eligible to apply.
  • Individuals who submitted papers unsuccessfully in past years may apply again.

AWARD

The winner will receive:

  • a financial award of $350;
  • conference registration for the SDS 2013 conference;
  • an opportunity to present his or her work at the SDS 2013 conference;
  • publication of the winning piece in Disability Studies Quarterly
  • the possibility of a public presentation at Brandeis University; and
  • a certificate of recognition.

TIMELINE

All manuscripts must be submitted by February 1, 2013. The 2013 recipient of the award will be announced on or around April 15.

To be considered for the competition, all manuscripts must adhere to the following criteria:

  • its overall length must not exceed 30 pages (double spaced, 12 point font);
  • citations should follow the formatting appropriate for the author’s field of study;
  • it must be written in English;
  • it must be available in alternative formats (e.g., large print, Braille, audiotape) upon request of the Awards Committee;
  • it must have content reflecting on a topic relevant to disability studies;
  • it must be written by a single author who is also primarily responsible for the research described.
  • it must not have been previously published.

Please send 1) the completed application form, 2) the manuscript, and 3) a CV. Electronic materials can be sent to: info@disstudies.org with ZOLA in the subject line.

Materials sent via USPS should be sent as registered mail to Executive Office, Society for Disability Studies, 107 Commerce Centre Drive, Suite 204, Huntersville, NC 28078, USA.

Award criteria can also be found at disstudies.org. Send questions about either the Senior Scholar or Zola Award to: info@disstudies.org .

The Society for Disability Studies is Pleased to Announce the Affiliated Scholar Program

The Society for Disability Studies is pleased to announce a program that will provide independent or unaffiliated scholars, artists, and activists who are currently members of SDS to affiliate with The University at Buffalo (UB) and its Center for Disability Studies (CDS) (http://disabilitystudies.buffalo.edu/index.php) for one academic year (July 1-June 30).  Affiliated scholars/artists/activists will have both on-campus and remote access to the UB library system and Center resources for use in disability studies/SDS related activities. Affiliated scholars/artists/activists will also have the opportunity to make a public presentation of their work on the UB campus. The public presentation will be planned in consultation with Mike Rembis, Director of the Center for Disability Studies and will occur during the academic school year. SDS, the UBCDS, and other collaborating partners will pay travel expenses and a modest honorarium.

The SDS Affiliated Scholar will also receive one complimentary registration to one annual SDS meeting to present their work.  The Affiliated Scholar is also eligible to apply for limited travel support to attend SDS. This is a competitive program open to all SDS members without institutional affiliation and/or current access to a research library. SDS may appoint a maximum of one scholar per year.

To apply, please send:

  1. Copy of your CV or equivalent biographical statement
  2. A personal statement (max 2 pp.) outlining why you would like to be an SDS Affiliated Scholar and how this will benefit both you personally and the disability studies community more broadly.
  3. A description of the project and/or body of work that you intend to pursue during your time as an SDS Affiliated Scholar (max 2 pp.). Please include information about the significance of this work for both you and for the disability studies community.
  4. A timeline (max. 1 p.), of the work proposed.

Application Deadline:

All materials must be received by February 15, 2013 in order to be considered for affiliation in the 2013-2014 academic year.

The Affiliated Scholar will receive:

The University at Buffalo (UB) LIBRARY PRIVILEGES:

  1. On-campus and remote access to UB library resources for use with SDS and project-related activities.
  2. Document delivery services through the University at Buffalo (UB) Interlibrary Loan and Document Delivery department, including scanning and electronic delivery of journal articles that UB has in print as well those obtained from other libraries
  3. UB book borrowing privileges for scholars who are located in WNY.
  4. Use of UB Reference services by web.
  5. A mentor for general disability studies research; affiliated scholars should be prepared to seek out a more specialized mentor who is willing to advise via Skype, phone, or email.

Other benefits include:

  1. Use of the title, “SDS Affiliated Scholar”
  2. UBCDS letterhead/envelopes for job applications and other SDS-related professional activities
  3. Complimentary registration to one SDS annual conference, where the Scholar can present work-in-progress
  4. Eligibility for limited travel support to attend SDS.
  5. The opportunity to present a public lecture at the host institution (expenses paid by the Affiliated Scholar Program).

The Affiliated Scholar is expected to:

  1. Contribute to the field of disability studies. The project the participant pursues should make a contribution and help to grow the field of disability and SDS.
  2. Seek out and gain acknowledgment from a mentor/advisor in their field of expertise who will act as a remote advisor via e-mail, telephone, and Skype. (The UB CDS Director, Mike Rembis, will act as a general advisor and liaison for the affiliated scholar during their affiliation with UB.)
  3. Draft annual end-of-year report for SDS which provides individual status-updates and feedback about the program (max 2 pages).
  4. Give a public lecture at the host institution (expenses paid by the ASP program)
  5. Present work-in-progress at the annual SDS conference

One’s ability to reapply for the “scholars” program will be based on the complexity of the proposed project and one’s progress and competency during their tenure as an affiliated scholar.  Projects lasting longer than one year must be renewed annually by the Board of SDS.

FOR MORE INFORMATION or TO APPLY CONTACT:

Michael Rembis, Ph.D.

SDS Board Member

Director, Center for Disability Studies

UB Civic Engagement Research Fellow

Assistant Professor, Department of History

University at Buffalo

Contact Information:

Department of History

552 Park Hall

Buffalo, NY 14260-4130

phone: (716) 480-6156

fax: (716) 645-5954

email: marembis@buffalo.edu

UBCDS Website: http://disabilitystudies.buffalo.edu/index.php

Other SDS Awards

The President’s Award

Details about the nomination process for the President’s Award are forthcoming from the SDS Board. Watch the sds member listserv!

This new award honors an activist and / or artist who has advanced the mission of SDS. This is the only SDS honor conferred by the Board of Directors. The Board may use the occasion of this award to honor someone from the host community of the annual meeting, or the award could draw attention to someone active in the arts and/or any public realm. In establishing this award, the Board of Directors wants to acknowledge all contributors to the development of disability studies and to the advancement of disability justice. This award recognizes the full work of disability studies by noting that academia is only one point of focus of our efforts and creativity. The award recipient may or may not be an SDS member; there are no restrictions on who may be considered. The recipient of the President’s Award will receive two complimentary registrations for the meeting at which the award is conferred.

Tyler Rigg Award

Generously funded by the Tyler Rigg Foundation, the purpose of the award is to facilitate, promote and encourage ongoing scholarly exploration of disability issues, with emphasis on the examination of representations of disability through the study of literature. The $500 prize is granted to one outstanding paper published in DSQ each calendar year.

Chris Bell Memorial Scholarship

The Chris Bell Memorial Scholarship honors the life and scholarship of Chris Bell, disability scholar and activist, former Society for Disability Studies president and co-founder of the SDS People of Color Caucus. In his article “White Disability Studies” (in the Disability Studies Reader) he was an early proponent of including issues of race within the field of disability studies, and his essay “To Act is to be Committed” discusses the challenges of activism with/in the academy. Chris’s work explored issues of race, disability, AIDS, illness, class and sexuality. At the time of his death in 2009, he was an ARRT Fellow at the Center for Human Policy, Law and Disability Studies at Syracuse University. The Chris Bell Memorial Scholarship seeks to support people of color doing scholarly work in the field of disability studies, with preference for those whose work aligns with Chris’s commitment to intersectionality, identity politics and activism.

Eligible applicants must self-identify as a low income, student, or international person of color who will present at the Society for Disability Studies annual conference. Dependent on need, the scholarship will help cover some of the costs of travel to and participation in the Society for Disability Studies annual conference. We expect to award 1-2 awards of $500 to $1,000 each.

Tanis Doe Prize for Best Poster at SDS 2013

Each year, SDS proudly awards the Tanis Doe Prize for the best poster, which includes a cash award and a certificate of recognition The Tanis Doe award is open to everyone at all levels of education and experience.  Additionally, in 2013, SDS will sponsor an “Honorable Mention” at each level of education:  K-12, community college, undergraduate, and graduate.  Authors of the posters earning Honorable mention will likewise receive a certificate of recognition. All winners will be recognized on the SDS website. We welcome proposals in all areas of disability studies, as well as submissions premised on this year’s theme. Presentations may be in various formats including:  papers, panels, round tables, performances, video screenings, posters, etc. Posters will be considered by a panel of judges appointed by members of the conference program committee; awardees will be selected and announced at the Poster Session.

The deadline to submit a proposal for next year’s conference is November 21, 2012. Visit http://www.disstudies.org to submit!

Member Showcase

Undergraduate Profile: Erica Carson

photo of Erica Carson

I am a fourth year undergraduate in Women’s and Gender Studies at Carleton University in Ottawa, Ontario. I first became interested in disability studies three years ago when taking a class entitled `Gender, Sexuality, and the Body’. My teaching assistant, Christine Kelly (now Dr. Christine Kelly), had mentioned her research in disability studies and I had never heard of this field of study and was intrigued. Christine continues to mentor me and aid me in developing my research interests. I found more than an academic interest but also a missing puzzle piece in my own sense of identity and how I understood myself as a disabled woman. My first experience at SDS was in 2010 and it was such a wonderful and life-altering experience. It was my first time being surrounded by prideful disabled people in which shame had no place; I felt at ‘home’ in my own community. As a result, this made me realize my research focus on disabled youth and identity. The second time I attended SDS was this year (2012) the strong community feel continued, however, I was presenting this time around.  I was very nervous, but people were wonderful at easing my nerves and comforting me. What a welcoming and receptive audience; it was a wonderful experience! It was great to hear what other undergraduates are studying in the area of disability studies. It was nice to have the hard work of undergraduates recognized and celebrated by SDS.

Graduate Profile: Olusola John Ogubdola

Photo of Olusola John Ogubdola

I work as a disability rights advocate in Nigeria through Project Restoration (PR).  I started PR in May 2009 with a mandate to mobilize and empower Nigerians living with disabilities.  The discrimination and social exclusion of people with disabilities in Nigeria have made it impossible for an average person with disability to live a productive livelihood.  In PR, we challenge those cultural, religious and social beliefs that militate against active participation of people with disabilities in every sphere of our national life.  As a person living with disability, my personal experience has influenced my work in the disability community in Nigeria.  People with disabilities are perceived as objects of charity and as burden to society.  Government’s policies and legislations are devoid of adequate provision for their peculiar needs.  Despite being a signatory to the United Nations’ Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), the Nigerian executive arm of government has resisted attempts to domesticate the treaty.  Disability rights are human rights and until the Nigerian society appreciate this fact, people with disabilities will continue to be excluded.

In PR, we realize the important role the media play in enhancing issues about marginalized groups, especially in Africa.  I have therefore focused our resources in PR toward advocating the protection of interests of Nigerians with disabilities, using the media.  Through a Ford Foundation International Fellowship, I am currently a Media Studies master student at the S. I. Newhouse School of Public Communications, Syracuse University, New York.  I have also benefited so much from the Disability Studies and Disability Law programs at the university.

The media mediate our perception of people and issues.  How the media portray disability in Nigeria cannot be unrelated to the social exclusion of people with disabilities in Nigeria.  My thesis centers on this relationship with a view to understand what media frames contribute to the social exclusion of Nigerians with disabilities.

PR is working towards establishing an Information and Communication Center for people with disabilities in Nigeria.  Through this project, we will educate and inform Nigerians with disabilities, and the general society on the rights and potential of people with disabilities.  It is our opinion that people are the most important resource in any nation.  There are about 25 million Nigerians living with disabilities.  It is important that this category of people is empowered to be productive.  This is what I am passionate about.

SDS Caucuses

The SDS Caucuses are informal groups that meet to discuss particular issues of concern, provide a network, and advocate for its members in SDS and in the broader community. Contact the caucus chair to be added to a caucus listserv and / or plan to meet up & get involved in Orlando!

A note to caucus chairs: Please use the on-line submission portal to submit a request for accessible meeting space at the 2013 conference in Orlando. SDS may not be able to accommodate requests received after the general submission deadline, November 21, 2012. Visit www.disstudies.org.

People of Color Caucus, Akemi Nishida, chair (anishida@gc.cuny.edu).

What are our collective responsibilities as scholars to the disability community?

The mission of SDS attempts to forge a meaningful relationship between academic theory and social practice/justice. Embedded in the disability community, SDS has been confronted about its position in the disability rights and justice movements. While presenting disability rights and justice activists’ criticism toward disability studies, this workshop urges scholars to unlearn our privilege and to engage in our collective responsibilities to the disability community. We will start our workshop by presenting criticism toward disability studies from disability rights and justice activists and a larger disability community. Then the facilitators will present our intended goals and purpose of the workshop.

Facilitators: Akemi Nishida, Nirmala Erevelles, Marjorie McGee

Queer and Trans Caucus, Lesley Freeman, chair (efemmera@yahoo.com)

The Queer and Trans caucus provides an informal space for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, genderqueer, and other queer and trans conference-goers to meet, network, and share experiences, ideas, and resources. The caucus serves as a hub for queer and trans newcomers seeking community, and for support during the busy, sometimes overwhelming conference schedule. The Queer and Trans Caucus also represents and advocates for queer and trans members within the broader SDS community, and has, in the past, worked with and alongside other caucus groups to bring attention to issues of identity and inclusion at SDS.

International Caucus, Chair: Funmi Akinpelu (funmiakinpelu@2000@yahoo.com)

The International caucus provides an informal space for disability studies scholars to exchange their interests in international, cross national and comparative research in the broad area of disability studies.  It serves as an international component of SDS. While the caucus typically engages international students, it also motivates American students to expand their academic horizons.

Good News!

Hurray! Samantha Schalk, esteemed SDS board member, passed her comps!

Michelle Nario-Redmond, Arielle Silverman, and Joan Ostrove were invited to the American Psychological Association (APA) workshop in October 2012 on the supports and barriers facing women with disabilities in STEM education at Gallaudet University, which reflects work toward the second phase of a project funded by the National Science Foundation called, “Women with Disabilities in STEM Education Research Agenda Development Project” (WWDSE).

On September 27, 2012, the Syracuse University Disability Cultural Center received a “Special Recognition Award” from Enable at the 2012 Shining Lights Awards Celebration. Syracuse University’s Disability Cultural Center (DCC) coordinates campus-wide social, educational, and cultural activities on disability issues for students, faculty, staff, and community members with and without disabilities. Other events for the 2012-2013 academic year include: “Disabilities as Ways of Knowing: A Series of Creative Writing Conversations” (three parts; entire series to be annualized, with Renee Crown University Honors Program, Center on Human Policy, Law, and Disability Studies, and many others); “Without Walls: Four Events with Rev. Dr. Kirk VanGilder” (second part of Disability Cultures, Faith, and Secularism – topic for Fall, 2012: Deaf Studies and Deaf gain; ongoing, with Hendricks Chapel and numerous others); “Mix-it-Up”: Disability Cultures and Inclusion, Around the World (part 2 – plan to host, each semester, with Slutzker Center for International Services); Orange Ability — part 2 (inclusive athletics and wheelchair basketball event with Recreation Services, Move Along, Inc., and others); the first annual “Disability Comicon”; a Disability Pride Dance Party (inspired by SDS!); and an intersectional identities film series, with the Office of Multicultural Affairs, the LGBT Resource Center and the Slutzker Center.

Stony Brook University now has a doctoral concentration in Disability Studies as a part of its new interdisciplinary Ph.D. program in Health and Rehabilitation Sciences. Course offerings include: Conceptual Foundations of Disability Studies; Emerging Topics in Disability Studies; Disability Studies Narrative, Language and Rhetoric; Disability, Health and Participation; Bioethics and Disability; and Madness and Civilization. Tuition scholarships and assistantships are available. The application deadline for 2013 is January. For more information contact Concentration Director Pamela.Block@Stonybrook.edu

The Rupture Sometimes is an essay film that explores the potential of disability to expand and enrich ways of thinking. It features nine scholars and artists. Disability, we come to find, is not always about disability as it is usually imagined; it is an escape from the pre-ordained, a place where rupture and emergence become guiding principles for the way we interact with our world. Disability becomes a way of knowing. See it at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3YkWsk1tXLw

Maren Linett will be teaching a new undergraduate disability studies class in the English department at Purdue University this spring: Literature and Disability: Deafness, Blindness, Culture. She has recently had two DS-related articles accepted: “Involuntary Cure: Rebecca West’s The Return of the Soldier” will be included in the special issue of Disability Studies Quarterly on madness, edited by Noam Ostrander. And “‘Seeing, seeing, seeing’: Deafness, Knowledge, and Subjectivity in Elizabeth Bowen” will be published in Twentieth-Century Literature in 2013.

From Petra Kuppers: New Disability Culture video, 22mins, international and cross-impairment perspectives. Disability/Culture: Research in Motion – http://youtu.be/AI77zqrAvoo

The University of Sydney is very pleased to announce the establishment of the Centre for Disability Research and Policy. This Centre at http://sydney.edu.au/health-sciences/cdrp/ aims to actively contribute to the challenge presented by the World Report on Disability (World Health Organization and the World Bank, 2011) to strengthen and support research on disability for evidence informed policy and practice development. There are five work streams in the Centre: Disability and disadvantage; Disability services; Disability and development; Disability and mental health; and National Disability Insurance Scheme. The Centre, which is under the leadership of Dr Gwynnyth Llewellyn, Professor of Family and Disability Studies, is very keen to link with other academics and research centers – our focus is the social and economic participation of people with disabilities and their health and well-being over the life course.

San Francisco State University is pleased to announce the launch of the Paul K. Longmore Institute on Disability. Named to honor and continue the intertwined scholarship and activism of its founder, this part think-tank, part cultural center introduces fresh ideas about disability and disabled people through a series of exciting projects at the intersection of disability history, the arts, education, and policy. Professor Catherine Kudlick (formerly at University of California, Davis) has joined SF State’s faculty as Professor of History and Director of the Institute, along with Emily Smith Beitiks (PhD University of Minnesota) who will serve as Assistant Director.  To learn more, please visit the Institute’s webpage: longmoreinstitute.sfsu.edu

Elizabeth Wheeler has an article on Eli Clare entitled “Don’t Climb Every Mountain” forthcoming in ISLE: Interdisciplinary Study of Literature and the Environment.

Check out DSQ

Disability Studies Quarterly, the first journal in the field of disability studies, is the journal of the SDS. Current issues and the full archives are accessible free of at http://www.dsq-sds.org.

SDS Board 2012 – 2013

Tammy Berberi: President

Frank Wyman: Vice President

Allison Carey: Secretary

Joan Ostrove: Treasurer

Liat Ben-Moshe

Funmi Akinpelu                        

Michael Rembis

Phil Smith

Gregor Wolbring

Russell Vickery

Sunaura Taylor

Devva Kasnitz: ex-officio

SDS Committees

We thank all of you who have served on SDS Committees. Please consider serving on an SDS committee. If you are interested in volunteering, please contact the chair of the committee of interest or Allison Carey (accare@ship.edu)

Standing Committees

Awards – Sunaura Taylor (sunaurataylor@gmail.com)

Senior Scholar -Liat Ben-Moshe (lbenmosh@uic.edu)

Irving K. Zola – Sunaura Taylor (sunaurataylor@gmail.com)

Affiliated Scholar Program – Michael Rembis (mrembis@gmail.com)

Fundraising – Devva Kasnitz (devva@earthlink.net)

Membership – Joan Ostrove (ostrove@macalester.edu)

SDS 2013 Program – Sami Schalk (sami.schalk@gmail.com), Michael Rembis (mrembis@gmail.com), and

Phil Smith (psmith16@emich.edu)

Site Committee – Tammy Berberi (berberit@morris.umn.edu), and

AHEAD (ahead@ahead.org)

Board Nominations – Liat Ben-Moshe (lbenmosh@uic.edu)

Research and Publications – Gregor Wolbring (gwolbrin@ucalgary.ca)

Ad-Hoc Committees

By-laws Revision – Frank Wyman, Chair (chips314@aol.com)

Strategic Plan – Tammy Berberi (berberit@morris.umn.edu)

Website Accessibility – Russell Vickery (russell@rjv.co.nz)

NIH Conference Strand – Devva Kasnitz (devva@earthlink.net) and

Pamela Block (pamela.block@stonybrook.edu)

Intellectual Access – Tammy Berberi (berberit@morris.umn.edu)

Russell Vickery (russell@rjv.co.nz), and

Mallory Kay Nelson (malloryk@gmail.com)

SDS Caucuses

People of Color – Akemi Nishida, Chair (anishida@gc.cuny.edu)

Queer – Lesley Freeman, Chair (efemmera@yahoo.com)

International – Funmi Akinpelu (funmiakinpelu2000@yahoo.com)