Disability Studies Initiative
Project Description:
The Disability Studies Initiative is an interdisciplinary group of faculty, staff and graduate students committed to promoting Disability Studies programming on the University of Arizona campus.
The Disability Studies Initiative (DSI) at the U of A is working to develop a program on campus and in the community that draws from this more nuanced understanding of disability. We are in the process of identifying courses, faculty, and departments, as well as community activists who are or will be willing to incorporate this new intellectual approach into the education of disabled and non-disabled students, faculty, clinicians, researchers, and community members, with the ultimate goal of creating a Disability Studies Program that will raise awareness and identify and transform oppressive institutions and environments. The Disability Studies Initiative (DSI), as well as the Disability Studies Program, will examine how addressing disability in its full complexity can promote the full participation, self-determination, and equal citizenship of people with disabilities in society. It will also explore how services that support persons with disabilities along with social, legal, and political change can reduce sources of disempowerment.
The members of the Disability Studies Initiative (DSI) recognize the inherent tensions that exist between the therapeutic, medical, and social models of disability; we hope to use these differences as a means of developing a Disability Studies Program at the U of A that integrates a broad knowledge base and does not perpetuate long-standing divisions.
Keyword(s):
Disability Studies
Core Function(s):
Performing Research or Evaluation, Developing & Disseminating Information
Area of Emphasis
Education & Early Intervention, Employment-Related Activities, Quality of Life, Other - Cultural Diversity, Other - Leadership
Target Audience:
Students/Trainees (long or intermediate trainees), Community Trainees / Short term trainees, Professionals and Para-Professionals, Adults with Disabilities
Unserved or Under-served Populations:
Racial or Ethnic Minorities, Geographic Areas
Primary Target Audience Geographic Descriptor:
Single-County
COVID-19 Related Data:
N/A
