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Connect Session (Commissions and Councils ONLY)

Engaging Disability Studies to Illuminate Global Perspectives: intersecting journeys on migration in America

This is a panel on intersecting journeys for understanding migration in America. Panelists examine how disability studies illuminate the ways ableism and racial biases shape perception of migrants. Dominant narratives are challenged that depict migrants through deficit-based lenses and expose assumptions about normativity and racial hierarchies in social work education.

Learning Objectives:

At the end of this session, attendees should be able to:
  1. Develop Critical Understanding of Shared Frameworks • Apply disability studies theories to analyze migration experiences • Identify how ableism and racism intersect with immigration policies and practices • Examine how disability and migration experiences share themes of navigation, adaptation, and resilience • Recognize systemic barriers across disability and migration contexts
  2. Enhance Pedagogical Approaches to Migration Studies • Integrate disability studies into existing migration curriculum • Create inclusive teaching strategies that acknowledge diverse bodily and cognitive experiences • Design learning activities that challenge dominant narratives about migration and disability • Develop methods to teach immigration on lived experiences and first-person narratives
  3. Foster Practical Applications for Social Work Education • Build capacity for recognizing and addressing intersectional needs of immigrants with disabilities • Develop assessment tools that consider migration status and disability experiences • Create strategies that impact both immigrant and disability communities • Design interventions faced by immigrants with disabilities