WHAT IS

DISABILITY STUDIES?

Welcome

This is the home page of  The University of Michigan Initiative on Disability Studies. The central purpose of UMInDS is to advance knowledge about, by, and for people with disabilities and to promote their full and equal participation in academia and society……

Learning with UMInDS

The University of Michigan Initiative on Disability Studies seeks to expand diversity at the University of Michigan by integrating the study of disability into research, scholarship, and teaching. UMInDS is generously funded by the College of Literature, Science, and the Arts, the Office of the Provost, the Office of the Vice President for Research, and the Rackham School of Graduate Studies, and is housed in the Department of English Language and Literature.

At the heart of UMInDS is our Rackham 580 class, offered twice a year, with different instructors leading different versions. Our course is cross-listed with different study areas, representing many schools at the University of Michigan:

ARCH 609/EDUC 580/ENGLISH 528/KINESLGY 505/PMR 580/RACKHAM 580/SOC 580/SW 572

Each year, UMInDS maintains visibility for contemporary disability studies in cross-campus events, many expanding on the notion of an academic presentation, and offering alternative ways of conceptualizing what research exchange can mean. Events offer cross-disciplinary engagement