Hello List-
I, like Richard, am a graduate student at UIC in Disability Studies, just finishing my master's degree and this fall I am entering the PhD program to pursue continued attempts in Disability Studies. Like Richard, also I am deeply concerned about the future of this program- but I want to take this opportunity to correct the record - or at least offer the other side of the story about the recent events that have occurred at UIC.
Yes, Professor David Mitchell was asked to "resign or be removed" from the Director of Graduate Studies in the PhD program- and Richard it was after a 4 year term, not three. Consequently, the dean of the college, Toby Tate wrote a email explaining that every three years the directorship rotates- however once again- David was told to resign after 4 years in the position. This may seem like a small matter, but the reasons given to Professor Mitchell for the demand for resignation were not a time related issue but rather the Department Heads (from OT, PT and DHD) informed Professor Mitchell that the students were divided in the disability studies program and that Professor Mitchell's attempts to secure student safety and address student concerns were inappropriate. The "spin" of a time sensitive rotation- is not factual. It is a lie and it needs to be known as such. What is not a lie is that students, including myself, have felt that UIC's Disability Studies Program has not be!
en a safe
space this year. At times the intellectual community has been quite upsetting for a number of reasons. First and foremost my fellow students have been attacked due to their disability status (or because of an impairment). In a program of 30 some students- there has been numerous complaints- 37 of physical threats and harassment - both sexual and emotional. When a program, such as UIC's, cannot maintain a safe space where individuals should be able to escape the disablement process and feel free to engage in Disability Studies- something needs to be done.
Professor Mitchell attempted to do just this. He not only listened to my, as well as other student concerns- he forwarded these concerns to the appropriate department heads as well as the dean of the college. All throughout these various attempts of forwarding complaints and attempts at resolution- the authorities above Director Mitchell- namely the Department heads and Dean ignored or literally shut down such threats. In turn Professor Mitchell contacted the Dean of Students office and was told that the students ought to forward their complaints onto them. At this point the Dean stepped in and said that this issue was to be resolved at the college level. Unfortunately, at this point students, including myself, were still upset- felt attacked and unsafe in a place where safety should be a given. I can handle others attacking my humanities based research as "not true Disability Studies" or "Fake Scholarship"- what I cannot handle is being told I am stupid, seeing my friends
emotionally and physically attacked and seeing disabled students being mocked, threatened and not being able to work and study in a place where all are welcome. This is not an issue of rehab versus disabled studies- these two approaches are not mutually exclusive. No this safety issue is about having an academic environment where some are threatened and abuse goes unchecked. At one point this semester students felt unsafe- hours before a class- and went to Professor Mitchell to request security- recognizing this request he called an unarmed campus security guard to be present in the building during this night class. Consequently this seems like an excellent choice- considering on the student list serv it was suggested hypothetically that in the future students might bring a gun to class to maintain safety.....a GUN? Don't get me wrong but I came to Chicago to do disability studies scholarship not worry about be threatened. UIC's Disability Studies program currently is not a!
safe
place and a group of us students are mobilizing to secure our safety. A goal we see as basic to the integrity of a Disability Studies program.
What have we done.... about a week ago a group of 20 or so of us organized a protest demanding that Professor Mitchell be reinstated, as well as asking for academic freedom for the PhD program- so future attempts to overthrow directors cannot occur. At this protest the Dean of the college asked to meet with us and refused our request to reinstate Professor Mitchell- she did however acknowledge that he acted correctly in calling a security guard to the building. We have also met with David Mitchell and yesterday met with Carol Gill- the new Director of Graduate Studies to speak of our concerns. We want a zero tolerance policy in which abuse of any kind will not be tolerated and we want UIC to return to a safe space where everyone is able to express themselves and all students- disabled or not can participate.
I am hopeful that this will happen- I want to congratulate Professor Gill and am confident that she will help to create a safe space at UIC. Throughout my time at UIC she has taught me that Disability Studies can and will change mindsets and that activism is an integral part of the experience- the group of concerned disability studies students at UIC are committed to help create a safe space and allow all to participate.
And perhaps I might not immediately find an English Department, American Studies Department or Medical Humanities Department that will hire me after I am done with my degree- but if the major reason I am getting my PhD is to get a job- then I would argue I am ignoring the theoretical and philosophical reasons for doing Disability Studies research. We do disability studies not to correct mobility issues but to examine why society places value on mobility. We do disability studies not to enforce ideas of normalcy but rather to trouble notions of normalcy, gender, race and orientation as well as impairment as corrupt endeavors that isolate others and divide.
I also understand that this post might seem one sided- but I have done my best to gather facts before sending this message. Not only did I meet with the Dean, but I also had the opportunity to meet with both Professors Mitchell and Gill. I also have listened in depth to my fellow students including those that do not agree with me and see the removal of Professor Mitchell as a good thing for the program. It remains my hope that as I return to classes this fall in Disability Studies I can once again feel free to express my own stories of impairment in such a way that I will not be mocked or threatened and that all can and will participate in an endeavor of disability studies. It is hard to feel any sort of optimism in circumstances like this- but I am hopeful that with concerned faculty and students UIC can return to a vibrant disability studies program.
Thanks,
Mike Gill
Richard Meldrum <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
Hello everyone,
I found m99m's response here interesting and I'd like to add my 2 bits to it.
As a caveat, I am a doctoral student in the disability studies program at
the University of Illinois at Chicago. Given my location, I have a strong
desire for DS to survive as an academic and interdisciplinary field.
One last caveat: To make things easier for me, and hopefully for the reader, I
will embed my responses in the body of m99m's text.
>> Continuation even of the present modest number of DS courses depends on
>> various factors, prominent among which are:
>>
>> (1) a continuing (and if possible, rising) demand for the courses, from
>> fee-paying or funded customers with sufficient proximity;
Additionally, I believe these courses need to begin in other academic
departments. My hunch is that there are a number of people who do research
and teach courses involving disability. Although, these folks may not
identify themselves as scholars of disability. As a burgeoning field, DS
scholars need to seek out these connections to create networks that may lead
to furture DS programs.
>> (2) the development and maintenance of a credible academic image for DS,
>> measurable perhaps in terms of serious research output in quality refereed
>> journals, with progress in quantity of worthwhile citation (i.e. citation
>> not only by mutual stroking, nor for purposes of refutation or ridicule,
>> but by authors in adjacent or distant fields, writing also in quality
>> journals, who are citing what they consider to be authoritative research);
hear, hear.
>> (3) some evidence that people with postgraduate degrees in DS have career
>> possibilities, i.e. the qualifications command respect from a range of
>> potential employers (apart from just going on to teach more DS), or open
>> up viable routes to self-employment.
As I mentioned above, I am currently a doctoral student so this issue is VERY
important to me and my classmates. Given that academic programs in DS are
scarce at the present time, students need to be mindful that they may not
initially find employment in DS. Rather, they may need to seek out the
adjacent fields that mesh well with their background. In my humble opinion,
the students who have the best chance of being immediately successful in this
task will be those with well established ties to a field through their
master's program. If I were a betting man, and remember I'm a grad student so
I'm a poor man with small wagers, I would bet that the students who come to DS
at UIC with ties in the rehab fields will be the most immediately successful
in forging a DS career and creating DS courses. Before the boos and hisses
pour out, I make this statement based entirely on the academic market. Rehab
programs are hiring and English departments are not, plain and simple.
>> In the UK, departments of Chemistry, History, Philosophy, and
>> other 'respectable' fields of study are in fact being closed left and
>> right, as well as 'Cultural Studies', East Asian Studies, etc, under
>> various pretexts, even though tertiary education is expanding. Meanwhile,
>> participants in this list may be aware of the recent cries of anguish on
>> the DS-Hum list, suggesting some political difficulties with the flagship
>> Disability Studies at UIC (Illinois at Chicago) and an (unconfirmed)
>> attempted take-over bid by insurgents from the Rehabista Front.
If I may paraphrase Mark Twain, the reports of DS's death at UIC have been
greatly exaggerated. m99m is wise to note that the recent information about
the program is largely unconfirmed. While the cries of anguish have certainly
found their ways to numerous listservs, scant factual information has made the
same journey. Yesterday, the program officially named Carol Gill as its
director of graduate studies after David Mitchell's 3-year term expired.
Carol certainly doesn't need me to do her PR work, but I'm confident that the
DS program will continue to prosper under her guidance.
>> When it's sexy, people try to climb aboard. When it starts greying, and
>> airing its views on life, or becomes merely a 'virtual' experience down a
>> wire, the managerial strategists and beancounters move in; the punters
>> look for something younger and prettier. That's yer academic whorehouse.
well put. Lets hope the DS field ages more like Bette Davis than Keith
Richards.
Best,
Richard
Richard Meldrum, LCSW
Ph.D. student in Disability Studies
Graduate Research Assistant with Advocacy and Empowerment
For Minorities with Disabilities
Department of Disability and Human Development
College of Applied Health Sciences
1640 West Roosevelt Road
Chicago, IL 60608-6904
[log in to unmask]
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