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The Society for Disability Studies is an international academic network of disability studies practitioners. [1] It often abbreviates its name to SDS, though that abbreviation continues to be used by academics and political scientists to describe the Students for a Democratic Society organization in the United States. The society's overall goal is to promote disability studies as a serious academic discipline on par with philosophy, the social sciences, and similar fields. [2]
In 1993 the society adopted an official definition of "Disability Studies": [3]
... examines the policies and practices of all societies to understand the social, rather than the physical or psychological determinants of the experience of disability. Disability Studies has been developed to disentangle impairments from the myths, ideology and stigma that influence social interaction and social policy. The scholarship challenges the idea that the economic and social statuses and the assigned roles of people with disabilities are the inevitable outcomes of their condition.
The organization was founded in 1982 first as the Section for the Study of Chronic Illness, Impairment, and Disability (SSCIID), and renamed Society for Disability Studies in 1986. [4] Its founders are Daryl Evans, Nora Groce, Steve Hey, Gary Kiger, John Seidel, Jessica Scheer and Irving Kenneth Zola (1935–1994). [4] The Society for Disability Studies is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization.
The Society maintains affiliation status with the Western Social Science Association [5] (WSSA) through its Chronic Disease and Disability section. Currently, the SDS has hundreds of members both nationally and internationally who continue to make disability studies a part of academic conversations. [4]
The Society for Disability Studies holds an annual conference [6] in June and publishes a quarterly peer-reviewed journal, the Disability Studies Quarterly. [7] [8] The journal is published exclusively online. [9] SDS has created a good model to follow when approaching publishers about their accessibility. [10]
In 2015, Adam Newman organized the "Digital Access Facilitation Team" (DAFT) [11] to make the 2015 annual conference of the Society for Disability Studies more accessible for a wider range of attendees. DAFT is coordinated by the Society's Student Caucus, whose members are a group of 25–30 students of SDS. Working in teams of two, members of DAFT were live-tweeting every session, contingent upon the consent of presenters. Live-tweeting all sessions and following standards for that emerging media, allowed a new way of producing accessibility for the disability community. [12] In the Society for Disability Studies, there are a number of caucuses which "designate groups that are under-represented within society or SDS as an organization." DAFT is composed entirely of students (undergraduate, graduate, professional) who work on behalf of the interest and needs of students. [13]
There are several options for membership opportunities, even if someone is unable to pay the membership fees they will not be turned away; "No one is denied membership in SDS due to an inability to pay an established membership fee." [14]
Two awards have been established by the society "to honor individuals who have shown dedication to Disability studies": the Senior Scholar Award and the Irving K. Zola Award for Emerging Scholars in Disability Studies. [15] The Senior Scholar Award is awarded to individuals who have made significant contributions to the field of disability studies. Past award winners: Devva Kasnitz (2014), Richard Scotch (2013), Carol Gill (2012), Tobin Siebers (2011), Rosemarie Garland Thomson (2010), Elizabeth Depoy and Stephen Gilson (2009), and Steven J. Taylor (2008). [16] On the contrary, the Irving K. Zola Award for Emerging Scholars in Disability Studies is awarded to an up-and-coming individual who also has made significant contributions to the field of disability studies.
2017–2018:[ needs update ]
Below is a list of the current and past presidents of the SDS. [18]
| Years Active | Name |
|---|---|
| 1986–89 | Irving K. Zola (founder) |
| 1989–1990 | Daryl Evans (founder) |
| 1990–91 | Barbara Altman |
| 1991–93 | David Pfeiffer |
| 1993–94 | Sharon Barnartt |
| 1994–95 | Richard Scotch |
| 1995–96 | Corinne Kirchner |
| 1996–98 | Adrienne Asch |
| 1998–2000 | David Mitchell |
| 2000–2002 | Phil Ferguson |
| 2002–05 | Anne Finger |
| 2005–06 | Jim Ferris |
| 2006 | Corbett O'Toole |
| 2006–07 | Chris Bell |
| 2006–08 | Elaine Gerber |
| 2008–09 | Noam Ostrander |
| 2009–2010 | Pamela Block |
| 2010–12 | Devva Kasnitz |
| 2012–14 | Tammy Berberi |
| 2014–15 | Michael Rembis |
| 2015–2016 | Brenda Brueggemann |
| 2016–2018 | Phil Smith [17] |
_ 2018–2020 Joanne Woiak – 2020–2021 Holly Pearson and Suzanne Stolz – 2021–Present Karen Nakamura and Joe Stramondo
The Phi Beta Kappa Society (ΦΒΚ) is the oldest academic honor society in the United States, and the most prestigious, due in part to its long history and academic selectivity. Phi Beta Kappa aims to promote and advocate excellence in the liberal arts and sciences, and to induct the most outstanding students of arts and sciences at only select American colleges and universities. It was founded at the College of William and Mary on December 5, 1776, as the first collegiate Greek-letter fraternity and was among the earliest collegiate fraternal societies. Since its inception, 17 U.S. Presidents, 40 U.S. Supreme Court Justices, and 136 Nobel Laureates have been inducted members.
Disability studies is an academic discipline that examines the meaning, nature, and consequences of disability. Initially, the field focused on the division between "impairment" and "disability," where impairment was an impairment of an individual's mind or body, while disability was considered a social construct. This premise gave rise to two distinct models of disability: the social and medical models of disability. In 1999 the social model was universally accepted as the model preferred by the field. However, in recent years, the division between the social and medical models has been challenged. Additionally, there has been an increased focus on interdisciplinary research. For example, recent investigations suggest using "cross-sectional markers of stratification" may help provide new insights on the non-random distribution of risk factors capable of acerbating disablement processes.
In the United States, an honor society is a rank organization that recognizes excellence among peers. Numerous societies recognize various fields and circumstances. The Order of the Arrow, for example, is the National Honor Society of the Boy Scouts of America. Chiefly, the term refers to scholastic honor societies, those that recognize students who excel academically or as leaders among their peers, often within a specific academic discipline.
The National Communication Association (NCA) is a not-for-profit association of academics in the field of communication.
The Society for Historians of American Foreign Relations (SHAFR) was founded in order to “promote excellence in research and teaching of American foreign relations history and to facilitate professional collaboration among scholars and students in this field around the world.” It is the preeminent organization in its field, with nearly 1,300 current members in over forty countries. It hosts an annual conference, and publishes the quarterly Diplomatic History. It also publishes a triennial newsletter, Passport. SHAFR has increasingly fostered connections with international institutions and organizations.
Irving Kenneth Zola (1935–1994) was an American activist and writer in medical sociology and disability rights.
The Organization of American Historians (OAH), formerly known as the Mississippi Valley Historical Association, is the largest professional society dedicated to the teaching and study of American history. OAH's members in the U.S. and abroad include college and university professors; historians, students; precollegiate teachers; archivists, museum curators, and other public historians; and a variety of scholars employed in government and the private sector. The OAH publishes the Journal of American History. Among its various programs, OAH conducts an annual conference each spring, and has a robust speaker bureau—the OAH Distinguished Lectureship Program.
The Labor and Working-Class History Association (LAWCHA) is a non-profit association of academics, educators, students, and labor movement and other activists that promotes research into and publication of materials on the history of the labor movement in North and South America. Its current president is James Gregory, professor of history at University of Washington.
Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) is a United States student organization representing left wing ideals. It takes its name and inspiration from the original SDS of 1960–1969, then the largest radical student organization in US history. The contemporary SDS is a distinct youth and student-led organization with over 120 chapters worldwide.
The National Association for Chicana and Chicano Studies (NACCS) is "the academic organization that serves academic programs, departments and research centers that focus on issues pertaining to Mexican Americans, Chicana/os, and Latina/os." Unlike many professional academic associations, NACCS "rejects mainstream research, which promotes an integrationist perspective that emphasizes consensus, assimilation, and legitimization of societal institutions. NACCS promotes research that directly confronts structures of inequality based on class, race and gender privileges in U.S. society." The association is based in San Jose, California.
Stephen Gilson is an American theorist and policy analyst who is best known for his work in disability, diversity, and health policy through the lens of legitimacy theory and disjuncture theory. Co-authored with Elizabeth DePoy, Gilson developed Explanatory Legitimacy Theory. Through that lens, Gilson analyzes how population group membership is assigned, is based on political purpose, and is met with formal responses that serve both intentionally and unintentionally to perpetuate segregation, economic status quo, and inter-group tension. Additionally, co-authored with DePoy, Gilson developed Disjuncture Theory. This theory explains disability as an interactive “ill-fit” between bodies and environments.
The Rhetoric Society of America (RSA) is an academic organization for the study of rhetoric.
The King Salman Center for Disability Research is a non-profit organization based in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. It conducts and funds laboratory and field research on all aspects and ages of disability. Its aim is to improve the quality of life of all persons living with disabilities by promoting research that results in real-life changes and activities that help reduce the impact of disability.
Christine E. Sleeter is an American professor and educational reformer. She is known as the Professor Emerita in the School of Professional Studies, California State University, Monterey Bay. She has also served as the Vice President of Division K of the American Educational Research Association, and as President of the National Association for Multicultural Education. Her work primarily focuses on multicultural education, preparation of teachers for culturally diverse schools, and anti-racism. She has been honored for her work as the recipient of the American Educational Research Association Social Justice Award, the Division K Teaching and Teacher Education Legacy Award, the CSU Monterey Bay President's Medal, the Chapman University Paulo Freire Education Project Social Justice Award, and the American Educational Research Association Special Interest Group Multicultural and Multiethnic Education Lifetime Achievement Award.
Christopher M. Bell was a disability studies scholar working in the area of HIV/AIDS, race and ethnicity. He was the former president of the Society for Disability Studies and contributed to national discussions about race, ethnicity and disability studies. His posthumously published anthology, Blackness and Disability: Critical Examinations and Cultural Interventions, grew from his early critique of disability studies as a "white discipline" that ignored the racial dimensions of studying disability. His 2006 essay, "Introducing White Disability Studies: A Modest Proposal," was published in the second edition of the Disability Studies Reader and established him as a notable disability studies scholar.
Rosemarie Garland-Thomson is Professor of English at Emory University with a focus on disability studies and feminist theory. Her book Extraordinary Bodies, published in 1997, is a founding text in the disability studies canon.
Disability Studies in Education (DSE) is a field of academic study concerned with education research and practice related to disability. DSE scholars promote an understanding of disability from a social model of disability perspective to "challenge social, medical, and psychological models of disability as they relate to education". A DSE perspective situates disability within social and political context and is concerned with the civil and human rights of students with disabilities, including issues of equity, access, and inclusion in educational settings, curricula, and activities. DSE emerged as a part of the broader, interdisciplinary Disability Studies movement and as a critique of special education. Special education (SPED) in the United States emerged after the signing of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act in 1975, marking the shift in educational rights by explicitly making the refusal of educational access illegal. Over the past few decades, special education has grown into an established academic curriculum and program which aims to enhance individuals with disabilities’ performance by focusing on changing their given educational environments and the limitations placed on them to foster growth and opportunities. SPED aims to build a caring society that accepts and celebrates different abilities without stigmatizing individuals with disabilities. Through SPED, students should be able to engage in learning and have opportunities for growth through education each and every day. Though SPED has good intentions for creating learning opportunities for students, there is a constant tension between DSE and SPED, primarily around the idea that disability studies in education should be inclusive of students with and without disabilities in order to best foster awareness and understanding of disability studies. SPED lacks the challenge of the social model of disability which is seen in DSE.
Catherine J. Kudlick is a professor of history and director of the Paul K. Longmore Institute on Disability at San Francisco State University. She is also an affiliated professor in the Laboratory ICT University Paris VII.
The Disability History Association (DHA) is an international non-profit organization that promotes the study of disabilities. This includes, but is not limited to, the history of individuals or groups with disabilities, perspectives on disability, representations/ constructions of disability, policy and practice history, teaching, theory, and disability and related social and civil rights movements.
Alison Kafer is an American academic specializing in feminist, queer, and disability theory. As of 2019, she is an associate professor of feminist studies at the University of Texas, Austin. She is the author of the book Feminist, Queer, Crip.
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