This upcoming fall, the Reilly Center for Science, Technology, and Values will be increasing its offerings of Disability Studies courses, speakers and events. Although the minor is not yet available, in response to an increased interest gathered from a student and faculty-wide survey, the center will explore officially establishing a minor program within the next couple of years.
Student body president Jerry Vielhauer announced in a March 3 email that the minor is being “soft launched” through an increase in disability-focused courses in the Reilly Center’s Health, Humanities and Society minor.
Associate professor Robert Goulding credited the spark of initiative to sophomore Benjamin Gallei, who directs student government’s Department of Disability Advocacy. Goulding said Gallei “compiled a report based on a lot of student feedback, showing the depth of student interest in a new Disability Studies minor.”
Gallei and his department researched Disability Studies programs at other universities and compiled a list of courses the minor could include in its efforts to advocate for its creation.
The interest in a new Disability Studies minor did not just stop at the student level but continued to gain support across multiple departments, including English and anthropological studies.
“One challenge to founding a new interdisciplinary program has been in finding a place for it to be administered and sustained. It doesn’t fit very neatly into any one department. So, I was really happy that the Reilly Center could offer it a home,” Goulding said.
Laurel Daen, an assistant professor in the Department of American Studies, continued to highlight how the new developments, in providing classes and events related to Disability Studies, are because of the efforts of students.
Junior Finley Shinnick aided in conducting surveys based on the initiative built by Notre Dame alumna Jill Maudlin to gauge students’ interest in a Disability Studies minor. “I analyzed and visualized this data and included this information in a proposal for a soft launch of the minor in early Spring. With this data, we demonstrated that there was both broad student interest and existing infrastructure at Notre Dame to accommodate a minor,” Shinnick wrote.
Speaking on the course of action and most recent progress that the department and students have made, Daen stated, “The Department of Diversity & Inclusion: Disability Advocacy within Notre Dame Student Government wrote a proposal for a minor this past fall. I circulated their proposal with faculty at the Reilly Center, and the director approved pursuing the minor.”
Although no class list has been officially published, Daen encourages students who are interested in taking a new course to look toward the fall semester offering of Introduction to Disability Studies, writing to The Observer, “This course will ultimately serve (we hope!) as the introduction to the minor. The course will originate in the Health, Humanities, and Society minor with cross-lists in American Studies and other departments/programs.”
Daen believes a minor in Disability Studies would be an asset to the University, as it would emphasize the education and action of Notre Dame’s mission of learning and service. “Disability Studies is an academic discipline that explores social categories and lived experiences of disability in order to create a more equitable and accessible world. Scholars in the field center the voices and experiences of disabled people, challenge ableism through scholarship and service, and promote the rights and dignity of disabled people," he wrote.
