SDS 2010 Call for Proposals

Start making your plans to visit Philadelphia in June 2010 ...

Call for Proposals for the 22nd Annual Conference of the Society for Disability Studies is now posted and available.
SDS Dates: June 2-5, 2010
SDS Host: Institute on Disabilities, Temple University
Conference Location: Howard Gittis Student Center, Temple University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Conference Theme: Disability in the Geo-Political Imagination
Submission Forms: All proposals must use the SDS CFP submission form available at the 2010 SDS conference site
Proposal Deadline: Midnight EST, December 15, 2009

Disability Studies, Temple U. lectures will now be distributed through IOD website

Disability Studies, Temple U. lectures beginning Fall 2009 will be available to our readers through the Insitute on Disabilities website. Allison Carey's September 9 lecture, the first of the the semester, is now available in print and audio formats - enjoy! Since this is a new effort of the Institute, we certainly appreciate your patience as we post them after the lecture. And we welcome your feedback and further suggestions.

Thoughts after the 3rd Annual New DEEL Conference

Thanks to Stuart Murray at Leeds University for making us aware of additional lenses through which British citizens are viewing the story Cerrie Burnell of the children's show Cbeebies.

"The BBC/Cerrie Burnell story has also been conflated here in the UK with that surrounding the death of Ivan Cameron, the disabled 6-year old son of David Cameron, who's the leader of the Conservative party, and (to a lesser degree) that surrounding the death of writer Christopher Nolan. These two links [one; two], from today's Sunday Times might be of interest." exerpt from email communication to the SDS discussion listserv

Together these might constitute something of a 'perfect storm' of interest in disability issues. One of our more popular television news anchors on this side of the pond (don't recall, but perhaps it was NBC's Brian Williams) shared with viewers his proclivity of reading the newspaper obituary section, which inspired him to note the Economist's notice of the death (and through it the life) of Christopher Nolan, of which he had otherwise not been aware. But there has been very little coverage of the sympathetic connection between Prime Minister Gordon Brown and David Cameron in our media (although see Beth Haller's post on Media Dis&Dat); I was only made aware of it by an English and an Australian participant at the New DEEL (Democratic, Ethical Educational Leadership) Conference held at Temple University this past Thursday through Saturday [conference; blog]. These two men included mention of this in their "Letters to World Leaders" as part of a morning plenary panel.

My own presentation at the New DEEL conference, for the lunchtime panel "Democratic, Ethical Communities and the New Administration," reviewed the history of disability activision in the MidAtlantic region and and our current capacity building, designed to support the growth and raise the visibility of the disability community on and around Temple. [Watch this space for a link to the slides on Slideshare.com] In discussing the role that our senior instructor Carol Marfisi played in fighting with ADAPT for the passage of the ADA, I also pointed out that we can't know in advance what leaders and administrations might bode well for the advance of disability rights; after all, the Americans with Disabilities Act was passed and signed during George Bush Sr.'s presidency, only to be stripped of much of its teeth due to Supreme Court decisions during the Bill Clinton presidency.

We also mourn the loss a very important local activist this week, co-founder of the Pennsylvania Education for All Coalition, Patricia "Trish" Creegan this week, to very aggressive form of lung cancer. She was taken far too soon, and yet we realize she would want us to celebrate her accomplishments and indominable spirit by getting back up and fighting for supports to that students with disabilities can take advantage of the wonderful resources of American universities like Temple. The net effect of these connections has been, I hope, to bring matters of disability supports and education FOR ALL firmly to the attention of our leaders. My further hope is that we will develop further connections with New DEEL activists as well.

Sincerely, Mike

"Welcome to Reality Tour" to visit Temple on Nov. 3

[Image description: Recording studio setup in a New York apartment. Two African-American dressed in black with red ball caps turned backwards, sitting in wheelchairs, Ricardo Velazquez at the mixingboard, Namel Norris at the microphone. Photograph shot from ground level.]

4 Wheel City's "Welcome to Reality Tour" will be making a stop at "The Underground" in Temple University's Student Center Complex, 13th Street and Montgomery Avenue at 1 pm on November 3, 2008. 4 Wheel City is an urban entertainment group and disability awareness movement started by Namel "Tapwaterz" Norris, rapper, and Ricardo "Rickfire" Velasquez, producer, two talented hip-hop artists who use wheelchairs since sustaining injuries from gun violence. Their mission is to use hip-hop music and culture to create more awareness and positive opportunities for people with disabilities, to inspire people not to give up in life, and to raise funds for spinal cord injury research. Follow this link for more information on the group and their visit.

Temple U. Fall '08 Disability Studies

I want to draw to your attention two graduate courses that are going to be offered at Temple University, Philadelphia, in Fall 2008

Mike Dorn [email] will be the lead faculty for the new course Disability Studies 5405: Disability Studies in the Humanities [PDF]. Drawing on the rich oral history, media, literary, and archival resources available in the Philadelphia metropolitan area, this class will help students to explore a variety of historical and contemporary sites. Trained as a cultural geographer, Dr. Dorn’s own research focuses on historical patterns of oppression and liberation as well as the role that disability ascriptions play in the bounding of the ‘normal.’ Although he draws on international intellectual currents and aesthetics, Mike is particularly interested in their cultural expression in the MidAtlantic and the Midwest.
Fall 2008, Monday evenings, from 5:00 to 7:30 pm

Disability Studies 5401: Disability Rights and Culture will be taught by my colleague, disability scholar and activist Carol Marfisi [email]. Drawing on her background in psychology, Carol explores the phenomenological experience of disability and for the historical formation of movements for disability rights. Course topics include eugenics, the parents movement, the developmental disability and independent living movements, assistive technology, sexuality and relationships, and disability culture.
Fall 2008, Thursday evenings, from 5:00 to 7:30 pm

Whichever course one takes, students leave better equipped to act thoughtfully and effectively in the present, to fight for change in their families, communities and societies. Don't hesitate to call or email if you would like to receive more information on these classes and how to enroll.

Leadership Transition at the Institute on Disabilities [II of II]

In a pair of articles, the Temple Times honors Diane Bryen for her 17 years at the helm of the Institute on Disabilities, and introduces the new executive director, well-known disability studies scholar and filmmaker David Mitchell.

Shattering the “glass staircase”
David Mitchell, the new executive director of the Institute on Disabilities, wants to make the academy more accessible.

Monday, March 31, 2008

CONTACT: Denise Clay 215-204-6522

Currently, if you’re interested in pursuing a doctorate in Disability Studies, there are only two places you can go: the University of Illinois-Chicago and the University of Leeds in Leeds, England.

David Mitchell, the new executive director of Temple University’s Institute on Disabilities, hopes to change that by making Temple an option for those in the Delaware Valley who want to earn their Ph.D. without having to go to Chicago or leave the country.

Mitchell, who served as the first permanent director of the PhD in Disability Studies at the University of Illinois-Chicago, has made one of his goals expanding Temple’s Disability Studies program from its current status as a place where you can get a certificate to one where you can get a degree, he said. [Addendum: Dr. Mitchell stepped down from the director position at UIC in 2004 and since then the position has been held by Dr. Carol Gill.]

Photo by Joseph V. Labolito/Temple University
David T. Mitchell, the new executive director of the Institute on Disabilities, hopes to further raise the profile of disability studies at Temple.

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Related Stories:
Diane Bryen is stepping down from Institute, not Disability Studies

Disability Arts and Culture Center at Access Living, Chicago

Graduate Certificate in Disability Studies at Temple University

“The goal is to grow Disability Studies at Temple into the most significant and influential home for Disability Studies in the United States,” Mitchell said.

Doing that will require a holistic approach, says Mitchell, who has written books on people with disabilities and their place within the humanities. While Temple is a more accessible campus to people with disabilities than most, a sea change is necessary for the academy overall, Mitchell said.

“Universities have been a ‘glass staircase,’” he said, referring to the lack of research and academic work that has been done on people with disabilities and the challenges they face. “Disability studies was created to infuse universities with opportunities for people with disabilities and to bring to them the realization that we all share a public space.”

The creation of Institutes on Disabilities like the one at Temple has helped make this public space available to people regardless of their physical abilities. Mitchell praised his predecessor, Diane Bryen, for making the institute what it is today, adding that he doesn’t see it changing much. Bryen, who was one of the first wave of disability activists who ran these institutes, is retiring this year.

Mitchell has done much of his work with his wife, Sharon Snyder, who is on the faculty of the University of Illinois-Chicago. He has two children, Cameron, 16, and Emma, 12.

Mitchell officially becomes the executive director of the Institute on Disabilities July 1.

For additional coverage, see Beth Haller's post at media dis&dat

Leadership Transition at the Institute on Disabilities [I of II]

In a pair of articles, the Temple Times honors Diane Bryen for her 17 years at the helm of the Institute on Disabilities, and introduces the new executive director, well-known disability studies scholar and filmmaker David Mitchell.

Changing uniforms:

While Diane Nelson Bryen is stepping down as executive director of the Institute on Disabilities, she won’t stop fighting for full inclusion of people with disabilities in all aspects of society.

Monday, March 31, 2008

CONTACT: Denise Clay 215-204-6522

Diane Nelson Bryen’s office in the Institute on Disabilities is a showcase of what she’s been able to accomplish with and for men and women with disabilities.

There are things that represent the places in which she’s taken the ACES (Augmentative Communication and Empowerment Support) program, such as Australia, India, South Africa, and Israel. There are awards from the various agencies for people with disabilities that she’s helped.
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And there are lots of pictures — pictures of smiling young men and women who are leading lives that their disabilities might have prevented them from living years ago.

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Through those pictures, Bryen gets the chance to see the fruits of her hands-on approach to working with children and adults with a wide variety of disabilities. As someone who has a brother with a disability, she sees just how important this work is.

Photo by Joseph V. Labolito/Temple University
Diane Bryen, the outgoing executive director of the Institute on Disabilities talks with David T. Mitchell, the new director of the center. Bryen is retiring from the post she has held since 1991.

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Related Stories:
David Mitchell to head Institute on Disabilities
Graduate Certificate in Disability Studies at Temple University

“I have always liked having my hand in the field,” said Bryen, who started her career at Temple as a special education professor. “This center serves multiple functions. We work with the community and we work with families and people with disabilities. We work with policymakers to change the system. We also do university-based research and teaching.”

And although she’ll be stepping down as executive director of the Institute on Disabilities in June, Bryen plans to keep working toward making things more equitable for people with disabilities.
Bryen came to Temple in 1964 as a student, eventually graduating with a masters degree in special education and a Ph.D. in educational psychology.

She started her teaching career at Temple in 1973 as a special education faculty member. While she had always had interaction with the Institute on Disabilities, it wasn’t until 1991 that Bryen was asked to lead the organization.

Under Bryen’s leadership, the Institute on Disabilities has achieved much. It has formed partnerships across the state to help provide people with such things as microwave ovens for the blind and high-tech computers that give those who have never spoken before the chance to communicate with loved ones.

One of the ways that those computers are being put to use is through the ACOLUG (Augmentative Communication Online Users Group), a listserv designed to provide an international forum for those with significant communication disabilities. The listserv currently has about 650 users, Bryen said.

But one of the institute’s most important achievements under Bryen’s watch is a greater awareness across the university of what disability is and isn’t, Bryen said.
“We’re changing the way that students at Temple are learning about disability,” she said. "Disability is a form of diversity. People with disabilities aren’t broken and need to be fixed. Instead, people with disabilities should be seen as a minority group and afforded equal protections, she added.

That’s something that C. Kent McGuire, dean of the College of Education, has come to know during his five years at the college’s helm. He has come to see Bryen as a tireless advocate for not only the people helped by the institute, but also for students interested in pursuing disability studies.

“I would describe her as passionate,” he said. “She’s committed to equality and social justice and is a very effective advocate for the disability community. She’s respected for that not only in Pennsylvania, but across the country. She’s also been a consistent supporter of Temple University students. Her presence and energy will be missed.”

Although she won’t be involved in the day-to-day operations of the Institute on Disabilities, Bryen, a Fulbright scholar and winner of the Lindback and Great Teacher awards, plans to remain involved.

“I’ve been at Temple since 1964 and have three degrees from here,” she said. “It’s hard for me to totally disengage from here. I wouldn’t have gone to college without Temple. Temple, like the institute, is a wonderful place that attempts to level the playing field recognizing that knowledge is power.”

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For additional coverage, see Beth Haller's post at media dis&dat

The "Enabling Spaces" Curriculum, and "Access to Admissions"

Last summer I [Mike Dorn] had the pleasure of working with a group of Philadelphia high school students calling themselves Project Beta. They were participating in an afterschool enrichment program calls bITS, funded by the National Science Foundation and hosted by Temple University's Information Technology and Society Research Group. While exploring high end Web 2.0 applications, students were challenged to derive insights from the fields of science, technology and mathematics to solve problems that were familiar to them in their everyday lives. Carol Marfisi and I provided the topical introduction to the themes that students would be exploring during the week-long model, "Towards Enabling Spaces?" Project Beta's explorations of the Temple University campus from the perspective of a person using a wheelchair produced the hilarious film entitled "Access of Admissions," since posted to YouTube and Temple University's site on CampusVid.

I am so impressed by the work of Geography and Urban Studies graduate student Langston Clement and the entire Project Beta team.



I hope you enjoy it, and are inspired to undertake similar explorations of your university campus! Feel free to contact us through the email link to the left, and we will put you in touch with the right people. Of course, you won't be able to duplicate that irresistable Philly soul sound!