Assignment 4: Reading Response and Documenting Accessibility on Campus
Part 1: Reading Response
Joy Ann Williamson, author of several of our assigned readings this week, reminds readers that "The federal government initiated various policies amid the growing urgency of racial reconciliation in the 1960s. The 1964 Civil Rights Act and the 1965 Higher Education Act were enacted against the backdrop of the Black liberation struggle. Higher education institutions were affected by these federal policies, and many, including the University of Illinois, genuinely believed that universities had an important role to play in alleviating racial injustice and took steps to use their campuses as tools for societal reform." (Williamson, 2013, 56).
Read and review the assigned readings on Project 500 & Nevada Street. Using both Williamson pieces and the Hoxie & Hughes reading, consider how the authors assess campus success and the transformation process of this work. Cite at least 3 different strategies used by campus-based groups, students and administrators to disrupt barriers to push for innovations in inclusion and diversity policies at UIUC. Which tactics successfully promoted diversity, which failed, and why? Consider whether the authors would argue that these innovations furthered inclusion and diversity on campus today, or not. Is the work complete? Elaborate why or why not. (approximately 1 page)
Part 2: Documenting Accessibility on the UIUC Campus
1. Last week, we met at DRES and documented strategies and services that DRES uses to address barriers of representation for "disability." This week, you will independently observe and document spaces you encounter on the University of Illinois-UC campus. Take three photos of objects/spaces that "break barriers" as described in the last week's Brown reading (i.e., examples of accessible design). For each image, describe the location of the image, when you took the image, how the object/space breaks barriers, and discuss whether the barriers are social, material, cultural and/or political. Then take three images of objects/spaces whose design introduces barriers. For each of these images, describe the location of the image, when you took the image, how the object/space introduces barriers, discuss whether the barriers are social, material, cultural and/or political, and discuss how you might adapt the space/object to break this barrier. Aim to compose your scalar page such that the text associated with an image (six images total) appears near its respective image.
Post your Reading Response and Lab Report to your Scalar page and send us (IS266TeachingTeam@gmail.com) the link by 12pm (noon) Monday.
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