Disability studies program makes its debut at ASU

Posted on August 26, 2019
A poster at ASU publicizes the school's new disability studies program. The poster depicts a light bulb against a black background with the text, "Disability Studies, BA."
A poster at ASU publicizes the school’s new disability studies program. The poster depicts a light bulb against a black background with the text, “Disability Studies, BA.”

Starting this fall, students enrolled in the New College of Integrative Sciences and Arts at Arizona State University can earn a bachelor’s degree in disability studies. The new academic program, which has been seven years in the making, is the first disability studies program of its kind in Arizona.

Theresa Devine, an associate professor at ASU, is spearheading the new program and also played a major role in developing and designing its curriculum. According to the program website, the disability studies major will prepare students “to address injustices, exclusions and misapprehensions regarding disabilities through advocacy and self-advocacy, education, knowledge of the law, and historical awareness.”

Click here to read more about the new disability studies program at Arizona State University.

ASU student explores how disability is talked about on Twitter

Posted on June 17, 2019
The Twitter hashtag #AblesAreWeird highlights the strange things that people do and say to people with disabilities. Image: text that says "AbledsAreWeird" appears against a solid blue background.
The Twitter hashtag #AbledsAreWeird highlights the strange things that people do and say to people with disabilities. Image: text that says “AbledsAreWeird” appears against a solid blue background.

Adam Schmuki, a linguistics graduate student at Arizona State University, studies the language and narratives people use on Twitter to refer to disability. A wheelchair user himself, Schmuki became interested in the subject earlier this year when he came across the hashtag #AbledsAreWeird. The hashtag gained popularity among Twitter’s disability community in late March as a way to normalize people with disabilities, who are often regarded by outsiders as “other.”

Click here to read more about Adam Schmuki’s research on language used to discuss disability on Twitter.

Curious to learn more about disability and language? Check out our disability language style guide, which is available in both English and Spanish.