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Disabled Academic Collective Profile picture
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Apr 22 • 3 tweets • 1 min read
Watching people post celebratory flight pics about going to conferences and other events is hitting really hard these days. I am so scared for my life every single day. So scared for the lives of my disabled community members. And this is a slap in the face. 1/3
I'm seeing so many in-person conferences/events/programming where the word "disability" features multiple times in advertising and programming but there is clearly no attempt to create meaningful accommodations in the form of fully hybrid or remote options. 2/3
Disability isn't just some vogue term you can co-opt to stay relevant. If you're not thinking about the access politics of your work, you shouldn't be talking about disability. 3/3 #AcademicTwitter #AcademicChatter

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More from @DisabledAcadem

Disabled Academic Collective Profile picture
Apr 22
All the time, whenever I ask or complain about access issues, I am framed as "angry" or "excessive" or "bitter" and very often "a bitch." And I know all these things are said behind my back, because it's not hard to find out from friends and acquaintances. 1/6
At the same time, I'm almost always told that if I want to see a change in policies, I need to give my time for free to consult on access issues. And this of course almost always comes from someone with more power, privilege, and security than I have. 2/6
When you tell me I need to build change, and yet you give me no resources to do so, this is what I hear:
- it's not worth my time to learn accessible event planning
- this person is attacking me but it's not my fault things are inaccessible
- they should fix it for me 3/6
Read 6 tweets
Disabled Academic Collective Profile picture
Apr 2
If you're a non-disabled scholar in #DisabilityStudies and you're
- participation in in-person only conferencing
- teaching only in person
- going to in-person networking events 1/4
You have to think about how you're benefitting (in terms of prestige, finances, job security) from career spaces that are inaccessible to most disabled academics right now. How are we supposed to tell our own stories when we aren't even in the room? 2/4
I'm so tired of looking around and watching as disabled faculty/students/staff bring up access issues. And the watching supposed "allies" remain silent when witnessing and benefitting directly from inaccessible spaces and events. 3/4
Read 4 tweets
Disabled Academic Collective Profile picture
Mar 17
Working WITH disabled people - as an educator, a medical professional, etc. - does not mean you understand the needs of disabled people. I'm really tired of people substituting proximity for lived experience. They're not the same. 1/5
Disabled people may agree with you, may thank you, they might give you good feedback, they might say they loved working with you. And all of those comments might be false. Because there is a power dynamic here. 2/5
If you're in control of someone's access, health, and accommodations, you're in control of their quality of life. Disabled people know that if they say something negative, or disagree, or refuse to pander, they might be framed as noncompliant or denied the care they need. 3/5
Read 5 tweets
Disabled Academic Collective Profile picture
Mar 15
Disabled scholars can't consult on access and accessibility in higher ed if they're constantly being forced out of the academy. We can't do this work without employment or security. And all the employment standards are based on inaccessible metrics we can't hit. 1/6
How are we supposed to present our latest work when conferences are inaccessible? How are we supposed to find coauthors or collaborators if networking events are not planned with accessibility in mind? 2/6
How are we supposed to publish on the same schedule as our non-disabled peers when we're wrangling with our health situations, and fighting for accommodations at work, and providing tons of unpaid and unrecognized consulting work to make the uni more accessible? 3/6
Read 6 tweets
Disabled Academic Collective Profile picture
Nov 21, 2021
Academic ableism is so wildly pervasive it is built into everything in the academy. And yet, once again, I've been asked to a meeting to describe its direct impacts and offer solutions. Ones that I know admin will not take. 1/5
Please stop asking disabled students/staff/faculty what is ableist. Everything is ableist. You could look at any uni policy and it would be correct to assume it's ableist. I shouldn't need to point them all out. That means you're not really looking. 2/5
I'm tired of meeting admin at the negotiation table with recommendations, notes, presentations, and data. Just to be told that this is just a discussion so they can understand better. 3/5
Read 5 tweets
Disabled Academic Collective Profile picture
Oct 7, 2021
I gave a talk at my alma mater this weekend. And it was wonderful. No one at the conference asked why I needed to eat different foods. They offered seated and standing presentation modes. Whenever I was seated everyone who wanted to speak to me shifted to the same level. 1/4
When we went to a restaurant and I declined from eating there, no one asked why. And when I casually mentioned that I'm allergic to corn to a colleague, they asked what my favorite meals to cook are and how I like to spice my foods. 2/4
None of my former professors asked if I'm better. Even though symptomatically I can argue I am. No one asked how brain surgery went or if I'm healthy. They focused on me - as a historian - and my work. And it was so easy to be there. 3/4
Read 4 tweets

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