Call for Proposals: University of Maryland (UMD) 2019 Disability Summit

Friday, February 15, 2019

Contact: Mollie Greenberg   disabilitysummit@umd.edu  

Sponsored by: University of Maryland University Libraries

https://www.lib.umd.edu/disability-summit

The UMD Disability Summit was established in 2016 as a forum for professionals, educators, academics, services providers, and advocates focusing on disability issues to dialogue and collaborate across types of disability and institution. The goal of the summit is to bring focus to and promote discussion of key current events and research impacting disability in society.

The 3rd Biennial University of Maryland Disability Summit will take place on Friday, April 5th, 2019. All panels and presentations will take place in McKeldin Library on the University of Maryland, College Park campus. All panels and presentations will take place in McKeldin Library. The Keynote speaker will be Dr. Jonathan Lazar, Professor of Computer and Information Sciences at Towson University. Dr. Lazar is the founder and former director of the Universal Usability Laboratory (2003 to 2014). He researches and teaches on human-computer interaction, specifically, Web usability, Web accessibility for people with disabilities, user-centered design, assistive technology, and public policy.

The inaugural Summit, Activism and Advocacy in the Academy, took place in 2016, with Dr. Gregg Vanderheiden as the keynote speaker. In 2017, Dr. Beth Douthirt-Cohen took the stage to discuss “Moving from Pity and Fear to Solidarity and Justice,” and the Summit focused on Disability in a Polarized Nation. This year’s focus, Looking Ahead - the ADA turns 30, encourages presentations looking at the federal policy’s lifespan, and reflecting on the potential and pitfalls of advocacy and activism in the current moment.

We encourage submissions from academics, advocates, and members of the community covering a wide variety of topics including, but not limited to:

• The history and outlook for the Americans with Disabilities Act
• Disability Activism/Disability Justice (past, present and future)
• Assistive Technologies
• Accessible Labor Practices
• Race, Gender, Class and Intersectional Approaches to Disability Advocacy
• Disability Community Engagement, Advocacy and Action
• Disability in the Media (the potential and pitfalls of representation)
• Literature and Disability Studies
• Attitudes and their Effect on Disability Policy
• Critical Disability Studies

We are accepting proposals for:

• Lecture-style Presentation (30 or 45 minutes)- Lecture-style presentations can range from in-depth scientific research to academic scholarly practices. Lectures include a Q&A portion.
• Workshop (45 or 90 minutes)- Session focused on skill building or formal professional workforce training
• Experience (45 or 90 minutes)- Session including live action, interactive, or hands-on components that engages session participants.
  
• Panel Presentation (45 or 90 minutes)- Three or more topic area presenters offer their perspective on a proposed disability studies topic. Each panel member will have the opportunity to provide an overview of their work followed by moderated questions and questions from the audience.
• Poster Presentation (1 hour)- Open, gallery-style presentation where attendees will walk by presenters’ posters and discuss the scholarly information, best practices, initiatives, or works in progress that are being presented.
• Other – Additional types of presentations welcome! Share your idea.

Please submit a 200 word abstract, title, your preferred format, and your contact information email directly to disabilitysummit@umd.edu with the subject line,“Disability Summit Proposal”

The due date for proposal submissions is February 15, 2019.

If you have questions about abstract or proposal submission, please contact Mollie Greenberg or Stephanie Cork at disabilitysummit@umd.edu.