Courageous Conversations: December 10
Human Rights Day: Ableism, Disability Justice and Accessible Futures in Post-Secondary Education
About the speakers
Dr. Laverne Jacobs (she/her) is a full Professor of Law at the University of Windsor in Canada, and a person with physical disabilities. Through her research, she explores the lived experiences of people with disabilities in relation to the law and she uses her scholarship to further disability equality and inclusion. Dr. Jacobs is the lead author of several books and articles including the first law and disability textbook in Canada (Law and Disability in Canada (2021)), and the Annotated Accessible Canada Act (2021). Dr. Jacobs is the Founding Director of The Law, Disability and Social Change Project, a research and public advocacy centre at Windsor Law that works to foster and develop inclusive communities. She is also Co-Director of the Disability Rights Working Group of the Berkeley Law Center on Comparative Equality & Anti-Discrimination Law. Dr. Laverne Jacobs is Canada’s nominee for the United Nations Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, 2023-2026.
Dr. Jay Dolmage is committed to disability rights in his scholarship, service, and teaching. His work brings together rhetoric, writing, disability studies, and critical pedagogy. His first book, entitled Disability Rhetoric, was published with Syracuse University Press in 2014. Academic Ableism: Disability and Higher Education was published with Michigan University Press in 2017 and is available in an open-access version online. Disabled Upon Arrival: Eugenics, Immigration, and the Construction of Race and Disability was published in 2018 with Ohio State University Press. He is also the Founding Editor of the Canadian Journal of Disability Studies.
Blessing
Oki nistowaok Sipiyanatohkomia”ki. Colleen Sitting Eagle is Siksika Language Instructor at Siksika Outreach School located in Siksika Nation, teaching in Siksika since 2009. Having previously worked as a researcher with Blackfoot Crossing Historical Park, Colleen has been employed with Siksika culture and heritage since 1992, and knowledge of Siksika history was taught to her by her late parents and knowledgeable elders whom she had the honor of working with. She was one of the first groups from Siksika to be integrated to start her schooling in Strathmore, AB. She previously attended and continues to take courses from the University of Calgary. She is the proud mother of three children and eight grandchildren.
Additional readings and accessible materials from December's presentation
- A copy of the notes for Dr. Jay Dolmage
- A copy of the presentation slides for Dr. Jay Dolmage
- A copy of the presentation slides for Dr. Laverne Jacobs
- An Open Access copy of Dr. Jay Dolmage's book Academic Ableism
- A connected document that lists hundreds of Universally Designed teaching ideas to bring into your classroom
- A great article by Shannon Dea on “Imagining the Post-Pandemic University”
- Natasha Saltes’ “Analysis of Disability Accommodation Policies for Faculty at Canadian Universities”
- John Loeppky’s MacLean’s article on barriers for disabled students in online learning
- An Ontario report on “Creating an Accessible Science Laboratory Environment for Students with Disabilities”
- Video of McMaster’s accessible Integrated Science Lab
- Video of Purdue’s Institute for Accessible Science
- An article on “What Physics Instructors Might Do to Support Immunosuppressed Students in the Return to In-Person Instruction”
- The University of Washington’s materials on Making Science Labs accessible.
- An article on “Universal Design for Inclusive Science”
- Tara Wood and Shannon Madden’s, “Suggested Practices for Syllabus Accessibility Statements.”
- Accessible Syllabus Project
- Margaret Price’s “It Shouldn’t Be So Hard” on the hiring process for faculty with disabilities.
- Price and Kerschbaum’s article on a qualitative interview study with disabled faculty
- Price, Salzer, O’Shea, and Kerschbaum’s article on disclosure of a mental disability by faculty
- Stephanie L. Kerschbaum et al., “Faculty Members, Accommodation, and Access in Higher Education”
- “Wanted: Disabled Faculty Members,” an article on ableism in the hiring process
- The Composing Access project, offering resources to make conferences and presentations more accessible
- Supreme Court of Canada Moore v. British Columbia (Education) 2012 SCC 61
- Government of Ontario, Ministry of Seniors and Accessibility, Development of proposed postsecondary education standards – 2021 initial recommendations report
- National Educational Association of Disabled Students (NEADS), Enhancing Accessibility in Post-Secondary Education Institutions
- Laverne Jacobs, Ruby Dhand, David Ireland, Richard Jochelson, Freya Kodar and Odelia Bay, Law and Disability in Canada: Cases and Materials (LexisNexis, 2021).
- Laverne Jacobs, Disability, the Right of Access and the Law: from Litigation to Citizen Participation (forthcoming - Routledge, 2023)
Winter 2022
Courageous Conversation Speaker Series
Thursday, January 20th, 2022
12:00 p.m. - 1.30 p.m. MST
