Submit your event proposal! The Society for Disability Studies is invested in supporting its members. We want to work with members to host events to promote their work, promote the work of others, and help to build community. To those ends, we can supply the infrastructural support to manage online events, including ticketing & registration, attendance monitoring, moderating, Zoom, and accessibility support. If you are a member who is interested in having SDS host your online event, please fill out this form.

Upcoming events

This May 30th-31st, the Society for Disability Studies is hosting a “non-conference,” two days of online events. The non-conference is organized around two recent books, Faye Ginsburg & Rayna Rapp’s Disability Worlds and Robert Chapman’s Empire of Normality. Each day will start with a book talk from the author, followed by an “author-meets-readers” panel. The readers for Disability Worlds are: Denielle Elliott (York University), Bess Williamson (), Christine Sargent (University of Colorado, Denver), Kim Fernandes (University of Toronto), and Toni Nieminen (University of Helsinki); the readers for Empire of Normality are Richard Grinker (George Washington University), Elizabeth Fein (Duquesne University), Rosalyn Malcolm (Durham University), Emily Lim Rogers (Duke University), and Andrew Brown (University of Washington). All presentations will be followed by a Q&A period with the audience.

Access files will be provided prior to the events. Please send any access requests to admin@disstudies.org.

Program for the two days, displayed on Canva.

May 30, 9-10:30 Eastern

Robert Chapman’s Empire of Normality, Book Talk

May 30, 10:30-12 Eastern

Robert Chapman’s Empire of Normality, Author-Meets-Readers

May 31, 9-10:30 Eastern

Faye Ginsburg & Rayna Rapp’s Disability Worlds, Book Talk

May 31, 10:30-12 Eastern

Faye Ginsburg & Rayna Rapp’s Disability Worlds, Author-Meets-Readers

Past events

November 2024 – General Members’ Meeting

Please join us this November 1 from 12-1:30 EST for our annual General Membership Meeting. There will be short presentations from the Society for Disability Study’s President and Treasurer, the editors of Disability Studies Quarterly, and the chairs of each of our standing committees, followed by a Q&A session. More information about the GMM was sent to members by email and posted on Patreon.

October 2024 – Where’s the Accessibility in Open Access?

Please join us this October 30th from 12-1:30 Eastern for a discussion about Open Access publishing, the role of accessibility in scholarly publishing, the importance of scholarly societies in supporting journals, how concerns with equity inform Open Access, and the present and future of Disability Studies Quarterly. Our panel discussion will include current DSQ editor Jeff Brune, Ohio State University librarian Johanna Meetz, Marcel LaFlamme from PLOS, and Tanya Titchkosky, author of The Question of Access. Please send any accessibility needs to our administrative assistant. A recording and transcripts will be available to SDS members after the event.

September 2024 – Back to School Celebration with Margaret Price

Please join us this September 3rd from 12-1:30 EDT for our Back to School celebration. We’ll have a discussion of Margaret Price’s Crip Spacetime: Access, Failure, and Accountability in Academic Life (Duke UP 2024). Panelists Benjamin Reiss, Aparna Nair, and Helen Rottier will each discuss the book and its implications for disability studies, Margaret will provide a response, and we’ll have an open discussion of the book. Prepare for the event by reading the introduction (or the whole book!) at https://www.dukeupress.edu/crip-spacetime. SDS members are welcome and will have access to a recording and transcript of the event.

August 2024 – Discussion of the academic job market with Jonathan Flowers and Matthew Wolf-Meyer

On Friday, 23rd August 2024 11-12:30 PST, join members of SDS’s board—Johnathan Flowers and Matthew Wolf-Meyer—for a discussion of the academic job market. How can you prepare yourself? What should you expect? Are there ways to stay positive through an arduous and often oblique process? Johnathan and Matthew will discuss their experiences as job seekers and members of hiring committees, and will answer your questions! Free for SDS members, who will also have access to a recording and transcripts.

January 2024 – Affinity Groups Schedule

On Friday, 12th January and Saturday, 13th January 2024, SDS will be hosting a series of affinity groups for members and non-members to help us develop plans for the future of the organization. We’d love to see you participate!

Friday [Zoom links removed after the events]:

International/Non-Western (8am PST/ 7pm CET – 90 minutes) CARTe- Requested; ASL Translation-

LGBTQAI+ (10am PST/7pm CET – 90 minutes) CARTe- Requested; ASL Translation-

BIPOC (12pm Pacific/9pm CET – 90 minutes) CARTe- Requested; ASL Translation-

Saturday [Zoom links removed after the events]:

Artists, Community Scholars, Activists (8am Pacific/5pmCET – 90 minutes) CARTe- Requested; ASL Translation-

Family members of disabled individuals (10am Pacific/7pm CET – 90 minutes) CARTe- Requested; ASL Translation-

Students (12pm Pacific/9pm CET – 90 minutes) CARTe- Requested; ASL Translation-

Events