The WWU Institute for Critical Disability Studies (ICDS) is a brand new institute at Western that officially launched in Spring 2022!
The ICDS represents a group of students, faculty, and staff committed to engaging with disability through an interdisciplinary, intersectional, and collaborative approach. Funding the ICDS will help us put on programs and initiatives around campus and beyond.
Our projects include:
- UnConferences and workshops that bring together Western and the local community
- Speaker series and lectures bringing cutting-edge Disability Studies scholars to campus
- Student scholarship programs
- Student mentorship programs
- Faculty development initiatives
Funding will allow us to expand these programs over the coming year and beyond. Your contributions will also help to grow our capacity to hire undergraduate and graduate students to participate in our initiatives as researchers and program support staff. Many of our projects and initiatives directly benefit students, allowing them to bring together their academic interests to collaborate on topics relevant to the broader community.
About the ICDS
The mission of the ICDS is to promote the academic field of Critical Disability Studies, to foster discourse around accessible teaching and scholarship, and to engage with the campus and local community around issues of disability, accessibility, and culture. The Institute’s core components include:
- Academic Programming
- Building Community
- Collective Action
We recently established an academic program in Critical Disability Studies, with the aim of creating a new minor in the 2023/24 academic year.
Questions? Contact the interim co-directors at: ICDS@wwu.edu
