This past week ADS's own Toritsegbogwa (Tori) Jakpa , SDS Assistive Technology  & Accessibility Specialist, presented at the national Association for Higher Education and Disability (AHEAD) conference in Denver on her research, "Overmedicalization in the Age of Social Media: Gen Z's Struggle with Self-Diagnosis," which she conducted with her research partner from Purdue University, Monaami Pal.

Her poster presentation in summary: Research studies have shown that there is a close relationship between the pharmaceutical industry and the American Psychiatric Association, leading to a tendency amongst mental health professionals to interpret everyday emotional suffering to be a medical condition which needs treatment. This is also fueled by the social media culture and the rise of influencers in the health and well-being industry. Our goal is to investigate how self diagnosis affects Generation Z. This issue of overmedicalization and self diagnosis is amplified by socioeconomic factors such as limited access to mental health services, geographic disparities in availability of healthcare, stigma associated with seeking medical help, and insurance affordability. Finally, we will apply crip theory and mad studies as frameworks to develop more effective and inclusive strategies to aid Gen Z’s mental health needs in higher educational systems.

When Tori is on campus, she works with undergraduate and graduate students registered with Student Disability Services, creating solutions with accessible technology.

Sami Schalk, Associate Professor, Gender and Women’s Studies, University of Wisconsin-Madison will be speaking on campus on Thursday February 23rd at 4:00 p.m. in the Performing Arts and Humanities Building Room 132.  To RSVP for this in-person event, click on the website button below.

Drawing from the book, Black Disability Politics, this talk will detail the Black Panther Party’s involvement in the 1977 504 Sit-in, in which protesters around the country picketed and occupied government offices to urge passage of delayed regulations related to Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. Schalk will discuss the sit-in as an historical example of how Black cultural workers have engaged with disability as a political issue in ways that have sometimes been obscured in Black studies and disability studies alike.

This lecture is organized by the Dresher Center for the Humanities.

Biography: Dr. Sami Schalk (she/her) is an associate professor of Gender & Women’s Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She is the author of Bodyminds Reimagined: (Dis)ability, Race and Gender in Black Women’s Speculative Fiction (Duke 2018) and Black Disability Politics (Duke 2022). Dr. Schalk’s academic work focuses on race, disability, and gender in contemporary American literature and culture. She also writes for mainstream outlets, including a monthly column called “Pleasure Practices” in TONE Madison. Dr. Schalk identifies as a fat, Black, queer, disabled femme and a pleasure activist.

Co-sponsored by the Initiatives for Identity, Inclusion, and Belonging (I3B); and the Office of Accessibility and Disability Services.

Image description: A multi-racial group of four students is laughing and talking at an outdoor table on UMBC's campus.  An image of Dr. Schalk is provided on the Dresher event website.

UMBC is committed to creating an accessible and inclusive environment for all students, staff, and visitors. If you would like to request a disability-based accommodation on site or have questions about this event or its location, please contact us at dreshercenter@umbc.edu.

This talk discusses the emerging field of “critical access studies,” which builds on work in philosophy, history, rhetoric, and critical studies of design, science, and technology. Critical access studies examines the values underlying our common approaches to accessibility, as well as the means of achieving it, in order to better pursue the project of disability justice. Aimi Hamrie will also offer examples of critical accessibility work, grounded in humanistic approaches to design, from the Critical Design Lab at Vanderbilt University.

Speaker bio: Aimi Hamraie is Associate Professor of Medicine, Health, & Society and American Studies, and the director of the Critical Design Lab, at Vanderbilt University. They are author of Building Access: Universal Design and the Politics of Disability (University of Minnesota Press, 2017) and host of the Contra* podcast on disability, design justice, and the lifeworld.

[Image description: Photo of Aimi Hamraie, an olive-skinned Iranian person with short and dark curly hair, wearing rectangular glasses. They smile at the camera. In the background are blurred green trees.]

As we plan for Spring and select courses, many are interested in more information about disability identity, history and context.  To support those who would like to know more, we're highlighting and listing courses that take a more comprehensive look at individual and collective experiences of disability-related topics that are a part of the national conversation. 

Highlighted Course: 

Other courses that include disability themes or sections:

Previous Courses:

Composing Disability: ENGL 220

Disability and Rehabilitation SOCY 455/655

No room in your schedule?  A preferred course not available?  Engage in some independent learning with the documentary:  Crip Camp - A Disability Revolution. 

Do you know of a course that should be added to the list?  Email us via slazar@umbc.edu to expand the list and possibly be featured in a future highlight.