I’ve been having a lot of conversations lately with dis/abled* students, faculty, and staff in higher education. A lot of us seem to feel isolated (especially when it comes to mental health).
I’d like to start an online community of some kind. It might be something as simple as a monthly virtual happy hour. We could use such a space to share with, listen to, and support one another in a welcoming and affirming space. However, this online community might also take the form of a community of practice, advocacy, and disability justice.
I am hoping to organize a meeting this September 2022 (once we have settled into the semester a little bit). At this meeting, I would love to find out what purpose people would want such a community to serve. I know this is kind of vague but if you have ideas or think you might be interested in joining something like this, please let me know. I have started drafting an agenda for the meeting. It consists mainly of questions I have had rolling around in my head for a while.
If you are interested in participating please:
- add anything you would like to discuss to the agenda
- fill out this when2meet poll with your availability
- email me at dcbeardmore@gmail.com so I can invite you to the meeting once it is scheduled
If you know someone who might be interested in joining such a community, I would be delighted if you would pass this information along to them.
Full links:
Agenda: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1lXJiWRateZNEmSHnP10WkQr0cWLHMHjAJrTgIxLh-90/edit?usp=sharing
Poll: https://www.when2meet.com/?16363060-fx93s
*Note:
I use the term dis/ability to 1) acknowledge the validity and value of humans who have disabilities, 2) emphasize the codependence of the socio-cultural conceptualizations of disability and ability, and 3) recognize disability and ability as construction of ableism, disablism, and each individual’s intersectional experience.
DCBeardmore.com 