Disabilities Division Spring 2010 Volume 2, Issue 2 Disabilities Division Newsletter Inside this issue: Statement from the Chair 1 People on the Move 2 Summer Courses 2 Call for Resolutions 2 News of Note 3 Student Paper Competition 3 New Certificate Program 3 Hotel Information 4 Disability Blogs 5 Call for members 5 Dear Friends and Colleagues, Happy spring! We are fortunate to have two terrific candidates for co-chair of our division, Jeremy Brunson and Tim Lillie. I’d like to thank Tim and Jeremy for being willing to run and serve our division. If you have not voted yet, please be sure to participate. On page 2, there is a call for resolutions from SSSP Vice President PJ McGann. Each division is asked by SSSP to develop at least one resolution, which will be put before the council of chairs and the membership at the annual meeting in Atlanta. Just let me know if you have any ideas about possible resolutions that you would like our division to pursue. I’m happy to brainstorm about any ideas you may have. I’ve included a list of disability blogs that I have perused lately, on page 5. If there are others you know, feel free to send their addresses my way and I’ll share them with everyone in the next issue. I would also like to include a list of films we as a community use for teaching purposes in the next issue, so send those along too! Best, Val Leiter Statement from the Chair University of Maine Interdisciplinary Disability Studies Summer Offerings The interdisciplinary undergraduate and graduate curricula in Disability Studies administered through the Center for Community Inclusion and Disability studies at the University of Maine examine disability and responses to it from pluralistic historical and contemporary perspectives. Courses are designed to provide thought provoking readings and assignments that expand and clarify the meaning of disability and guide students to think of innovations that promote equal opportunity for full participation. Summer 2010 courses are offered as asynchronous, on-line web-based courses. This summer we are offering three courses: DIS 500 Interdisciplinary Seminar in Disability Studies Dates offered 6/1/2010-6/18/2010 http://dll.umaine.edu/info/welcomepage/WelcomePage.php?course=DIS500_990 DIS 300 Disability: Interaction of Human Diversity and Global Environments Dates offered 6/21/2010-7/9/2010 http://dll.umaine.edu/info/welcomepage/WelcomePage.php?course=DIS300_990 DIS 530 Disability Policy Dates offered 7/12/2010-7/30/2010 http://dll.umaine.edu/info/welcomepage/WelcomePage.php?course=DIS530_990 For more information, please contact Stephen Gilson, PhD, Coordinator, Interdisciplinary Disability Studies at Stephen_gilson@umit.maine.edu 2010 Call for Resolutions from PJ McGann, SSSP Vice-President SSSP resolutions constitute an important opportunity for our scholar-activist membership to publicly declare their sentiments, thereby creating a channel for greater visibility and more direct influence upon a variety of "publics," i.e. fellow activists, scholars, students, decision-makers, social action groups, voters, and others. To submit a resolution regarding disability issues, simply forward your resolution or idea for a resolution to PJ McGann, SSSP Vice-President (pjmcgann@umich.edu) and to Val Leiter, the Disability division chair (valerie.leiter@simmons.edu) by July 1, 2010. Deadline: May 1, 2010 The Disabilities Division is pleased to announce its 2010 Graduate Student Paper Competition. Papers may be empirical or theoretical and may concern any social aspect of disability. Papers should not exceed 30 double-spaced pages and should be prepared for anonymous review. Current graduate students and recent graduates (who received their degrees after December 2009) may submit a paper if it was written while still a student. Papers based on theses or dissertations are acceptable. (Please do not submit the thesis or dissertation itself.) Co-authored papers are acceptable as long as all the listed authors are current graduate students. Double submission to other SSSP award competitions will be disqualified. The award recipient will be required to present the winning paper at the 2010 SSSP Annual Meeting in Atlanta, GA. Thus it is strongly recommended that an abstract of the paper be submitted to any Disability Division session organizer by the January 31st deadline. The recipient will receive a monetary prize of $100, student membership in SSSP, SSSP conference registration, and a ticket to the SSSP awards banquet. Send an electronic copy of the paper (in Word format) and a cover letter identifying your graduate program to: Professor Valerie Leiter at valerie.leiter@simmons.edu. 2010 Graduate Student Paper Competition MAKE YOUR HOTEL RESERVATION TODAY! The Sheraton Atlanta DATES: August 10 – August 18, 2010 RATES: $165 per night (standard single/double/triple/quadruple) Rate is exclusive of 15% tax and subject to change without notice Hotel: Our 765 room property located in the heart of downtown amid the top cultural, entertainment, sports and tourist attractions is Atlanta’s 6th largest meeting and convention property. More than $50 million has recently been invested upgrading all its meeting and conference spaces and $20 million in guest room and architectural enhancements. This has propelled the Sheraton Atlanta’s evolution from an unpretentious property into a stylishly designed, energy efficient, environmentally responsible, 21st century hotel. Guestrooms: The Sheraton Atlanta is spending $20 million on a capital improvement and enhancement program encompassing all facets of the 760 guest room and conference center hotel. All rooms feature a spacious desk area with task lighting, telephones with data ports and plenty of personal comforts. And, to make your experience even more convenient, we added in-room video, bill review and check-out. But we didn’t forget the little things either, like making sure you have a complimentary weekday newspaper. You also will have access to high speed internet for only $9.95 per/day. Reservations: To book, modify or cancel a reservation go to: http://www.starwoodmeeting.com/Book/sssp2010. You can also call the hotel directly during the hours of 9:00am-5:30pm (EST) at 404-659-6500 or Central Reservations department at 800-833-8624 (24hrs). When you call to make your reservation please give the name of the group to ensure you are given the correct room rate. Each reservation must be guaranteed with a credit card and will be charged one night room and tax when you book your reservation. Check in is at 3:00pm and check-out is at noon. There must be a 72 hour notice for cancellation prior to arrival. Any cancellation made after this will forfeit one night room and tax. Cut-off Date: Reservation must be confirmed by July 21, 2010 at 12:00am (EST) to guarantee a room rate of $165.00. Reservations made after July 21st or after the room block is filled are subject to non-availability and rate increase. 165 Courtland Street NE. Atlanta, GA 30303, United States Phone: (404) 659-6500 http://www.starwoodmeeting.com/Book/sssp2010 People on the Move! Robyn Lewis Brown has accepted an Assistant Professor position in the Department of Sociology at DePaul University. And Tommy Horejes has accepted a Tenure Track Assistant Professor position in Sociology at Gallaudet University. Congratulations and best of luck to these members as they move forward with their careers! Valerie Leiter Division Chair Department of Sociology Simmons Collegevalerie.leiter@simmons.edu Send Correspondence to: Alexis Bender Newsletter Editor Department of Sociology PO Box 5020 Georgia State University Atlanta, GA 30303 or alexisab@bellosuth.net Exciting New Publications!! Ben-Moshe, L. and Colligan, Sumi (2010). Regimes of normalcy in the academy: The experiences of disabled faculty, in Nocella, A., Best, S. and McLaren, P. (eds.) Academic Repression: Reflections from the Academic Industrial Complex. AK Press. This new book will hold Howard Zinn's last published article and features other articles by Ward Churchill, Henry Giroux, Joy James, Doug Kellner and many more! DePoy, E., & Gilson, S.F. (in press). Studying disability: Multiple theories and responses. Sage Publications. It should be out this summer! Indiana University-Purdue University Indiana (IUPUI) is now offering a Certificate in Rehabilitation and Disability Studies through the School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences! Link - http://shrs.iupui.edu/health_sciences/degrees/undergrad.html#RehabDisabilityStudies Interesting Disability Blogs: Rosemary Garland Thomson (2010 SDS Senior Scholar Award recipient): http://blog.oup.com/2009/10/garland-thomson/ Steve Gold (disability policy and law): http://www.stevegoldada.com/ Temple University: http://disstud.blogspot.com/ Compiled list of disability blogs: http://www.e-bility.com/links/blogs.php Members needed!! ASA Disability in Society Section!! The Disability in Society Section-in-Formation needs YOU! In order for the section to become a full-fledged section, we need to get 300 members by the end of September 2010. We understand that times are tough these days, but please consider renewing your ASA membership and becoming a member in the section.