Within the CDSC, we organize our efforts into committees we call initiatives.
Critical Disability Studies Program-Building
This initiative is focused on building a CDC program at the University of Minnesota, such as connecting with affiliates, working on building the curriculum for an undergraduate minor, and creating support for the program through collaboration with advocates such as the Center for Race, Indigeneity, Disability, Gender & Sexuality Studies.
Dreaming Up the Change Disability Makes (Imagine Chair in Arts, Design, and Humanities)
This initiative is structured as a rotating chairship shared among Professors Tammy Berberi (UMN Morris), Jigna Desai (UMN TC), and Jennifer Row (UMN TC). The Imagine Chairs actively seek to build collaborations furthering disability studies program building across UMN campuses. This includes course creation, grant writing, and pedagogical programming. The Imagine Chairs also advocate for disability issues as they intersect with University life, including disability-friendly COVID-19 policies and antiracist positions.
Refusing Disposability: Racial and Disability Justice Toward Another World
This initiative aims to further the interrogation of, and resistance to, the causes and consequences of disposability. Thinking alongside disability and racial justice activists, our three-year interdisciplinary workshop examines intersectional analyses, public histories, and transformative praxis as a form of counter-knowledge that contends that #NoBodyIsDisposable.
Teaching with Access and Inclusion (TAI)
The words are simple. The concepts seem straightforward. Yet, the process of incorporating accessibility and inclusion into everyday teaching practices leaves many instructors wondering how to put the words and concepts into practice. The TAI program presents workshops around critical frameworks and practical strategies towards creating more equitable educational experiences for all.