Disability Justice I: Summer 2023

Introduction to Disability Justice

July 24 – August 13, 2023

Short Course

Description

In this 3-week introduction to disability justice course, you will learn about disability justice, practice using inclusive language, and apply strategies to interrupt ableism.

You can expect to create documents and/or find ways to apply your learning right away, including options like:

• Write/revise inclusive accessibility statements,
• Draft an email/letter to a decision maker advocating for a change through multiple means of communication, i.e. email, letter, conversation, etc.
• Practice strategies for addressing ableist language and microaggressions,
• Brainstorm ways to re-design a campus space, and/or
• Apply inclusive language to campus communications and course documents.

Course Learning Objectives:

By the end of this 3-week short course, participants will be able to:

• Advocate for change grounded in disability justice.
• Use inclusive language and accessible design in course/campus communications.
• Interrupt ableist language or microaggressions.

Modules

Each week we will focus on different key concepts and skills. These essential questions frame these key topics for each module:

• Module 1: What is disability? What is the social model vs. medical model of disability? What is disability justice?
• Module 2: What is ableism? What are some examples of ableism in systems, policies, and communication? What is identity-first vs. people-first language? How do I use inclusive language?
• Module 3: What are microaggressions? How I do I interrupt ableist language or microaggressions? What are ways to advocate for inclusive communication, policies, and systems?

Suggested Audience 

Faculty (Full-time and part-time), Instructional Designers and Technologists, and Faculty Developers/Trainers.

Estimated Time Commitment 

Most participants are able to complete this course by committing 4-6 hours per week. 

Reflect on your Professional Development 

As you progress through this course, please consider how you can use the assignments as a way to highlight your work on your Professional Development Plan. Consider sharing your work with your leadership team.

Registration Required

Use the RSVP tool below to register. There is a limit of 30 participants per course.

Because we need time to enroll participants into the corresponding D2L Brightspace Course site, we will close RSVPs the Friday prior to the start of this course.

Reminder Coming:  We use the email address you provide to send a calendar appointment to remind you of the start date of this short course.

Accommodations: If you require accommodations to participate in this event, please send an email to the facilitator at the bottom of this page.

Course Location 

This course is hosted and facilitated using the D2L Brightspace instance of Minnesota State called, MnSite. 

Questions?  

Contact the Educational Development and Technology unit.