<div dir="ltr">Hi, the Disability Research Interest Group of the AAA has asked that the following letter and survey be distributed as widely as possible to improve AAA meeting accessibility.  Please consider filling it out.<div><br></div><div>----------</div><div><br></div><div><div style="font-size:12.800000190734863px;line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-alternates:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">Dear colleagues: </span></div><br style="font-size:12.800000190734863px"><div style="font-size:12.800000190734863px;line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-alternates:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">In recent years, the Conference Accessibility Committee of the Disability Research Interest Group (DRIG), an interest group of the Society for Medical Anthropology, has been working hard to make the AAA annual meeting, and the smaller section conferences, more accessible for our colleagues and students. Now, we are asking you to take a few minutes to </span><a href="https://goo.gl/forms/GUJzEtIWp0Gsn3JJ3" target="_blank" style="text-decoration:none"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-alternates:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;text-decoration:underline;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">complete a survey </span></a><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-alternates:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">about your conference experience. </span></div><br style="font-size:12.800000190734863px"><div style="font-size:12.800000190734863px;line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-alternates:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">Many disabilities are not always obvious, and there is often a sense of stigma in our discipline and in society at large when it comes to disclosing disability status and/or asking for access. Many anthropologists have impairments that they are very adept at minimizing or keeping to themselves. For instance, we might keep quiet about how age-related hearing loss affects our participation in a microphone-less conference roundtable; about how an injury or chronic pain affect moving about the large conference hotels; or, we might be so used to operating with colorblindness or another vision condition that can make viewing powerpoints difficult.
</span></div><br style="font-size:12.800000190734863px"><div style="font-size:12.800000190734863px;line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-alternates:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">In August, the DRIG’s conference access committee will conduct a virtual meeting with the AAA business office to discuss conference accessibility. We will discuss both the logistics of conference organization and accommodations, and we will request the creation of a committee within the general executive structure devoted to disability inclusion (there is currently no permanent AAA-wide disability access organization or appointee). This is a request we have previously made and it was not granted. The DRIG, as an interest group of the Society for Medical Anthropology, considers accessibility advocacy essential to the kind of AAA community that we hope for but, we are not institutionally located in an appropriate place. Our goal for the access committee, what’s more, is to have a wide range of stakeholders involved so that disability access becomes a concern across the sections and within the general membership.
</span></div><br style="font-size:12.800000190734863px"><div style="font-size:12.800000190734863px;line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-alternates:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">The survey is open to all those who consider themselves anthropologists by profession, regardless of membership in the SMA or the AAA.</span></div><br style="font-size:12.800000190734863px"><div style="font-size:12.800000190734863px;line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><a href="https://goo.gl/forms/iaBOeeY1YeCVV7Mh2" target="_blank" style="text-decoration:none"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-alternates:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;text-decoration:underline;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">TAKE
 ME TO THE SURVEY</span></a></div><br style="font-size:12.800000190734863px"><div style="font-size:12.800000190734863px;line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-alternates:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">Information about the outcome of the meeting will be shared via the DRIG listserv and at the 2018 business meeting (open to all) during the regular program of the AAA in San Jose.</span></div><br style="font-size:12.800000190734863px"><div style="font-size:12.800000190734863px;line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-alternates:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">Thank you for taking the time to record your responses.</span></div><br style="font-size:12.800000190734863px"><div style="font-size:12.800000190734863px;line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-alternates:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">Signed,</span></div><div style="font-size:12.800000190734863px;line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-alternates:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap"></span><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-alternates:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">Cassandra Hartblay, Christine Sargent, and Tyler Zoanni of the DRIG CAC </span></div><div><br></div>-- <br><div class="gmail_signature"><div dir="ltr"><div><div dir="ltr"><span style="font-family:garamond,serif">Leila Monaghan, PhD</span><br></div><div><span style="font-family:garamond,serif">Publisher, Elm Books</span></div><div><span style="font-family:garamond,serif">Laramie, Wyoming</span></div></div></div></div>
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