Community: Reimagining our work as possibility, ownership, dissent, commitment, and gifts

Presented at 10:30am in Windsor on Friday, November 17, 2017.

#9019

Speaker(s)

  • Scott Marshall, Associate Director for Instructional Technology and Accessibility, University of Minnesota

Session Details

  • Length of Session: 2-hr
  • Format: Lecture
  • Expertise Level: All Levels
  • Type of session: General Conference

Summary

How can we shift the accessibility conversation on our campuses from being a “problem” to being a “possibility”? Why do we think our “leaders” hold the answers? What gifts do we bring to our work? Community is a powerful concept we can more intentionally invoke to more fully and sustainably engage our partners in our work.

Abstract

Peter Block’s book, Community: The Structure of Belonging asserts that shifting our conversations from problems to possibilities is done through community. Our work in accessibility, if it is to be sustainable, calls each of us to name possibilities that value the well-being of the whole over individual self-interest. Continuing to name problems limits our ability to transform what's important to us by keeping the responsibility for problem solving with “the experts”. How can we shift the mindset on our campuses from problem to possibility, from leaders to citizens? How can we encourage citizens of our campus communities to choose accountability for the well-being of the whole? Conversations of possibility, ownership, dissent, commitment, and gifts lead to a structure of belonging. How we understand community and our work with these five concepts have a profound impact on the viability of our work. We'll explore these concepts and ways each of us can practice them in our work.

Keypoints

  1. What do we mean when we name "community" in our work and how do we invoke it for the well-being of the whole?
  2. Shifting our mindset toward an intentional understanding of community has the power to expand what's possible.
  3. Conversations of possibility, ownership, dissent, commitment, and gifts lead to a structure of belonging.

Disability Areas

Cognitive/Learning, Deaf/Hard of Hearing, Mobility, Vision

Topic Areas

Other, Uncategorized

Speaker Bio(s)

Scott Marshall

Dad, husband, disc-thrower, reader, woodworker: Scott is practicing using his privilege and gifts to make higher ed digitalia more accessible to more people.