Module 1 – Introduction and Crip Peripheries
Collective Access Frameworks and Discussion
Access Commitments for this Course
Link to Slides
https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/12ipfgNw8LSNB3LVlJr0NPrG0p7NAWnARmypHRQcHyQs/edit?usp=sharing
Link to document: DST 604 Access Commitments
This document is a living record of the access requirements, needs, desires, and commitments of everyone in this class. Its purpose is to guide how we learn and work together, and to remind us that access is not static but something we actively create and sustain in community. We will return to this document throughout the course to reflect on our practices, ensure we are upholding our commitments, and work through any access frictions in the spirit of good faith and collective care.
The commitments recorded here began with what was shared in the pre-class survey, other correspondences, and our own access requirements as instructors. They reflect the starting points of our collective understanding, practices, and commitments of access in this class.
This document will continue to grow through your contributions. You are invited to add your access requirements and commitments at any time by writing directly into this document, sharing with us in conversation, or submitting your input anonymously. All contributions are valued and will help shape how we practice access together.
Please feel free to add to this list. If you’re not sure which heading your contribution should go under, feel free to add them under the “general” heading.
Course Format and Participation
- This course is hybrid: you can participate in person, online via Zoom, or asynchronously.
- Attendance and participation are not required. You are welcome to engage in ways and at times that align with your energy, capacity, and circumstances.
- Participation will not be graded. All forms of engagement are valid and respected.
Course Material and Communication
- The syllabus, course outlines, lecture notes, and slideshows will be provided before class sessions.
- A designated note-taker will make notes available to everyone.
- Zoom captions will be enabled for all online sessions.
- Content warnings will be shared in advance of ableist, racist, transphobic, queerphobic, necropolitical, and otherwise violent material. Please feel free to add to this list.
Classroom Environment
- For in-person sessions, masks will be available and a HEPA filter will be used to support air quality.
- The class will be held in the Disability Publics Lab, where we will use lamps to reduce reliance on overhead lighting.
- The classroom will be a relaxed environment where you are welcome to stretch, move around, or take breaks as needed. Together we will decide how to balance mask wearing with the access need for snacking during class.
- We will discuss how to respect and accommodate different communication styles in class and group work.
- We commit to respecting each person’s pronouns and to using un-gendered language whenever possible.
- We will pause between large segments of content and work to break material into smaller, more manageable parts.
We will discuss collective access in class during Module One and continually throughout the semester. You can add items directly to the collective access document, and discuss on the General Channel on Discord: General