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Disabled Academic Collective Profile picture
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Nov 23 • 6 tweets • 2 min read
Before Twitter collapses in on itself like a dying star - please remember that the DAC exists. Our website is linked in our bio. So what do we have/do? 1/6
We're a group of disabled academics, broadly defined. We're made up of disabled undergrads, grad students, staff, faculty, and community scholars. 2/6
Part of the job is outreach - boosting stuff about disability here on Twitter. We also host teaching resources and a blog on our website. Happy to retweet any content about disability in higher ed and to put out calls for papers/jobs/fellowships to our members. 3/6
We also have a private Discord server where we DON'T do outreach to non-disabled people. This is a safe space for disabled academics to exist in community together. We have a bunch of threads about academia broadly. 4/6
We also support anyone who wants to form a community group on the Discord. We've had reading groups, working groups, and craft groups. Moderators try to support whatever events people want to put on. 5/6
If you'd like admittance, you can DM or use our website. Looking forward to being in community with you! Please excuse any delays in correspondence - trying my best to keep up with everyone and everything. 6/6 #AcademicTwitter #AcademicChatter #DisabilityTwitter

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More from @DisabledAcadem

Disabled Academic Collective Profile picture
Sep 3
When students email their accommodation letters (per our school's policy) I don't just say "ok thanks." I take time to explain how their accommodations will work in practice in our classroom. 1/8
I detail what access measures are built into the course design. I mention I'm a disabled educator. I talk about our respective responsibilities to make sure the accommodation is met. And I remind them that their needs can change and that's ok, I'll work with them. 2/8
I tell them I'm committed to their success in the course. I explain communication options should they find that the accommodations they have in place aren't really working, or if they need something new. 3/8
Read 8 tweets
Disabled Academic Collective Profile picture
Aug 31
In the past year I've watched high risk students, staff, and faculty:
- fight endlessly for accommodations for remote work
- weigh the risks of losing healthcare vs being exposed
- beg their communities to keep them safe 1/7
I've watched high risk academics:
- drop out of school
- leave faculty/staff positions
- thrive with remote access and then almost immediately lose access
- beg others in the academy to learn and grow from this collective experience 2/7
I am so tired of begging institutions of higher education to remember that disabled people exist. Disabled people make up the largest minority in the world. Our hiring rates in the academy? 1.5-3.4% as measured in the 2010s. At this point idk that were even measurable. 3/7
Read 7 tweets
Disabled Academic Collective Profile picture
Jul 25
Do you want your academic organization held accountable for promoting access? Do you want to protect high-risk people while we're in (multiple) pandemics? Send your academic organization an email demanding online, virtual, remote access for future conferences. 1/7
"In Defense of Remote Access" is an ongoing bibliography that defends the utility and ethics of remote access modalities. In light of rapidly worsening climate issues, war in the Ukraine, and excessive travel costs we cannot continue to have in-person conferences. 2/7
Conferences are unethical. They privilege those of us with the most resources. They demand national and international travel for (maybe) an audience of a handful of people and some awkward networking in the hallways. We can do better. 3/7
Read 8 tweets
Disabled Academic Collective Profile picture
May 30
A lot of people have complained these past three years that virtual conferences don't have meaningful networking moments. Which I find ridiculous. Because I've conducted my whole social life except work from my apt these 3 years. And surprise I still have friends. 1/6
Virtual conferences can be planned to have anything we want them to have. It just takes a little tinkering with platforms, some ingenuity, and the willingness to explore what we can do. Can we have breakout rooms where everyone brings a drink and chats? Yes. 2/6
Can we have events like academic speed dating - pitch your topic and then we'll jumble pairings in 2 minutes - yes. Can we have workshops? Yes. Can we have roundtables? Yes. Can we have meals and casual snack time? Yes. 3/6
Read 6 tweets
Disabled Academic Collective Profile picture
May 9
Conference organizers planning inaccessible events - really hope you know what message you send by doing this. You send the message that ableism in the academy is permissible. And you send the message that disabled ppl are not welcome and will not be in the future. 1/9
You send the message that it's easier to gaslight us than to invest labor in creating equity. You lash out at us and make us feel like we're asking for TOO MUCH when we asked for what should've already been built into everyday practices. 2/9
You make us question you as colleagues in the profession. If you can't create an accessible event, then how do you approach other professional tasks? Are you equally ableist when it comes to our grant/fellowship apps? Our publications? Our job apps? Our tenure apps? 3/9
Read 9 tweets
Disabled Academic Collective Profile picture
May 6
Event organizers keep saying that accessibility would drive costs up SO HIGH that it would just be IMPOSSIBLE to hold hybrid conferences. Like please I've been paying for everyone else to drink and have shitty appetizers for years. 1/6
Here's what I've been paying for for years at conferences:
- food options with no ingredient lists and/or allergy alerts
- walking tours I can't ever take bc I use a cane and cobblestone is a nightmare 2/6
I've been paying to watch everyone:
- stand and mill about networking while I sit at a table on the fringe somewhere bc I can't stand for an hour of small talk (or even 15 min)
- catch up with people they already know and treat the conference as some kind of reunion 3/6
Read 6 tweets

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