UC Berkeley launches groundbreaking disability research initiative  By Andrea Lampros, University Relations | May 11, 2011 BERKELEY - The University of California, Berkeley - viewed by many as the birthplace of the disability rights movement - today (Wednesday, May 11) announced plans for a sweeping new research initiative that will make the university a worldwide leader in disability studies. UC Berkeley will create two new faculty positions, including an endowed faculty chair funded by a gift from Colleen and Robert D. Haas, to galvanize and lead the multidisciplinary initiative. Ten faculty members from eight campus units will collaborate on research related to disability, with topics including how people define and respond to disability and the critical areas of technology, education and employment. "It's meaningful that this is happening here at Berkeley," said Susan Schweik, a UC Berkeley professor of English and associate dean of arts and humanities, who has

Special Effects: Advances in Neurology  by Neil Marcus More than a document of the early days of the disability rights movement,  Neil Marcus ' collection  Special Effects: Advances in Neurology  is also a window into California zine culture of the 1980s. Art in revolution: social justice, the human growth movement, art in the everyday. From flourishing dystopia to speech storms, Neil documents living artfully in Berkeley, California, and in Disability Country. Publication Studio is proud to present this collection of reprinted documents with a new forward by Melanie Yergeau and an interview by Esther Ehrlich. $15 softcover; $10 DRM-free ebook 80 pp. 7 1/3" x 9 1/2" x 1/8" View sample pages:  1 ,  2 ,  3 ,  4 ISBN: 9781935662563 www.publicationstudio.biz/books/93 I bought my copy from Neil on Tuesday night, at an Olimpias gathering at Subterranean ArtHouse. (During which Neil and I did a tiny score that involved horseback riding and me being the long soft aaaa

I've been taking Axis dance classes again and gearing up to start rehearsing for the Yerba Buena Gardens performance again this year. Then, today, I received this in my inbox from friends at The Center for Accessible Technology in Berkeley.  I follow Wheelchair Dancer . Alice's blog, and she always has something fascinating and accurate to say about the body, the body's tools, and how we place ourselves in language. Don’t miss Alice Sheppard, author, disability studies scholar, and dancer with the world famous AXIS Dance Company. Discover from her a world view that will change how you think about disability, dance, and movement. In this Webinar you will: ·          Discover how a wheelchair is an excellent tool for artistic expression. ·          Find out how Artie on Glee should be pushing his wheelchair. ·          Understand that what we know as assistive technology is like a paintbrush to a painter, or a chisel to a sculptor. ·          Recognize wheelchairs for w