>HI Dennis and everyone-- My advice is to try to do a pilot course
>rather than the survey approach for a couple of reasons:
Many Dis Studies programs exist that operate under other auspicies at
universities such as schools of medicine, special edu, etc., though
I'm not sure if this is the case at UW (though I don't recollect them
having one) where social/cultural critique/models are either absent
or limitedly employed (why I've taken to calling what I do Disability
Studies in the Humanities) To avoid confusion, such things as
syllabi, etc. for people to "see" what this is would help in gaining
interest and clarity.
Many PWD and Pw/oD too (particularly students entering the univ.) are
unaware that such a field exists, that it can be studied akin to
other identity studies programs (would you if all you were taught
culturally about being disabled is "I never think of you that way,"
meaning it's not polite so we just won't see it, or "Gee, if I were
you I'd just kill myself" meaning there's no culture, you just need
to be cured or killed (Hi Paul!). If this is the case, a survey is
not enough to shake eighteen years or enculturation. Even after a
course or two here, students are just beginning to see the light, (I
get stopped every so often by a student who says "Oh, Now I get it"
quarters after my course) sometimes it takes years. (The MLA's
forthcoming volume on teaching disability studies as well as
Kalideoscope's forthcoming issue on Teaching, among other things
might speak to this).
Some faculty and grad students don't know they're already doing Dis
Studies in some of the work that they do,-- they might talk about the
lameness of a Dickins character, but might not do a DS reading--
though this seems to be changing with the MLA's Cmte recovery of
search descriptors in the MLA database, and consequently might not
know about critical texts in the field, though the singular listing
from the MLA joblist this year asking for DS person shows a lack of
awareness of the field. Again, a survey might not illuminate enough.
A course might also allow someone to bridge with other departments,
or bring speakers in, say showing films at the Arts center, or having
the dept bring someone in for a lecture/reading.
And without asking for too much flack from the list, dare I say that
to make a course and/or survey successful, if you have an "unhelpful"
Disability Services Office who do little more than testing
accommadations, well getting the word out is gonna be tough with
either the survey or course approach, but at least with a course
you'll have a core group of students to build some momentum after the
course is over and through word of mouth. Dr. Bruggemann's and my
courses have have proven to be successful despite Disability Services
(who claimed among other things to "never have received" a packet of
100 flyers) and I'm certain the University as a whole would never
have supported the Enabling the Humanities Nat'l Colloq. we had here
were it not for the initial support of our own department and the
tangible interest shown in the courses. (And no, Disability Services
did not support the colloq, with either money or advertising).
Lastly, I do know that they were trying to build something like this
at UC:Berkeley, historically one of the stronger and more progressive
places of this you would think, but appearently the movement "died
from student apathy" according to my sources, but there it was "just
talk". Maybe SF State's/NEH symposium this summer will help. Grad
students can't apply for that, but you should encourage some faculty
members to go-- it's five weeks of this!!
BTW: I'll be in Seattle myself again for a week this June, playing
uncle so we can try again.
Hope this is of help. (and yes, Dennis, you may share this email, if
you wish, with the cmte.)
Cheers,
Johnson
>To those that do from one trying to make others do. I need some strategy
>advice.
>
>I'm a non academic person with a disability trying to stimulate the
>formation of the disability studies program based on the social model of
>disability at the University of Washington, Seattle. I have a "Interest
>committee "consisting of 14 faculty and staff (and one student with a
>disability) from various graduates and undergraduates departments. The
>co-chairs of the committee disagree on how to proceed. One feels that there
>is not enough students with disabilities involved and is not sure of the
>market for a disability studies program. (The University has approximately
>30,000 students. ) She wants to study the issue and do surveys. The other
>chair wants to move forward and first create disabilities studies content in
>the existing curriculum while working towards new courses and the
>development of the undergraduate major.
>I'd definitely feel the need for more involvement by students with
>disabilities and I'm continuing to work on this issue but I'm concerned by
>the potential momentum killer of the "study and surveyîapproach. Should I
>be worried about a potential market? Or is this a case of ìif you build it ,
>they will come?î
>Advice please.
>
>Dennis Lang
Johnson Cheu
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