Interdisciplinary Disability
Studies
Celebration of Achievement
April 30, 2009
Christa L. Carlson – Elementary Education
2009 Disability Studies Scholar
My experience this semester was a crash course in Disability
Studies, as I decided to take all of the courses in the
concentration in one semester. Coming into the semester, I had a
definition of disability and I knew what it was. First week of
classes, and straight off I realize that defining disability is
not as straightforward as it had once seemed. The waters are
muddied and rethinking notions are a daily experience. It is the
middle of the semester; on one hand I am sure that everyone is
disabled, and on the other hand I am also sure that if
environments were designed different no one would be disabled.
At the end of the semester I fall somewhere between the lines of
everybody is disabled and nobody is disabled. I do have a new
working definition of disability. Just don’t ask me to tell you
in 50 words or less.
Stephen and Liz asked us to flip our brains, to look at
disability through the lenses provided by the different
approaches. Flipping our brains, we took a step back and
challenged our preconceived notions of disability. We asked
ourselves how did we see disability, and why did we see
disability this way. I think the best way to illustrate my
experience in this crash course is to revisit my top three
“aha!” moments of my semester. As an education major, I know the
significance and importance of the “aha!” moments in learning.
They are the ideas learned that stay with a student for a long
time. In the moment that an idea finally sinks in, it meshes
with previous knowledge and personal experience to create a
unique understanding of that idea.
“Aha!” Moment #1
Disjuncture Theory. It had never occurred to me before that the
responsibility of change could lie in the environment and not
just in the person. I told all of my family and roommates, very
excitedly might I add, that environments create disability!
“Aha!” Moment #2
Universal Design. Social change within a market economy is about
making trendy products that are usable by everyone. Looking
around at the posters from our DIS 450 class, you see products
that originally were designed exclusively for people with
disabilities, and now have become fashionable products that are
marketable to all users. Take audio books for example: at first,
bulky machines exclusively for the blind, now are MP3 players
and iPhones used by everyone. What has been done with audio
books and the other products on these posters can be an example
for how we approach creating the environment around us.
“Aha!” Moment #3
Knowledge lights a fire under your rear end. Or, in other words,
what we have learned now motivates us to take action. For all of
us graduating from the Disability Studies concentration, we will
be weaving our knowledge through all of the diverse life paths
we will take. I wish you all luck in these future endeavors. I
also believe I speak on the behalf of all of us in thanking our
teachers for pushing our boundaries and supporting us through
this experience.
Go to IDS 2009
Celebration Photo Gallery
Go 2009 IDS Celebration news story
