The New Normal: Disability, Social Justice & the Future of COVID

Episode 1: David Hernandez-Saca

David Hernandez-Saca is an assistant professor of disability studies in education at the University of Northern Iowa within the Department of Special Education. He is co-editor of a book titled Dis/ability in the Americas: the Intersections of Education, Power and Identity which was published earlier this year. He and I also studied and became friends during our undergraduate years at UC Berkeley! David has a great deal of personal and professional experience with disability which is one of the reasons I wanted to be sure to talk with him for one of the first episodes of The New Normal. In this conversation, David and I explore a number of topics, including disability as a social construction, intersectionality, and the potential for real, systemic change in this COVID era. Leave a voicemail to provide feedback and tell me what you would like to hear! https://anchor.fm/christopher-carr3/message Additional resources: * Dis/ability in the Americas: The Intersections of Education, Power, and Identity [https://www.palgrave.com/us/book/9783030569419?fbclid=IwAR3RHxuVeHWoZUmp8rwL4tRiozrQh9J4SbshbpV8wWICSIRPklXZta-qP4U] (Palgrave MacMillan, 2021) * The Hechinger Report: Is the pandemic our chance to reimagine education for students with disabilities? [https://hechingerreport.org/is-the-pandemic-our-chance-to-reimagine-education-for-students-with-disabilities/] (December 7, 2020) * The 1A from WAMU: What Does Intersectionality Actually Mean? [https://the1a.org/segments/intersectionality-kimberle-crenshaw/] (March 29, 2021) SERU COVID-19 Survey, The Experiences of Undergraduate * Student Experience in the Research University (SERU): Students with Physical, Learning, Neurodevelopmental, and Cognitive Disabilities During the Pandemic [https://docs.google.com/document/d/1JrPktBoLN2cJHxwGwLorgCKFnlR86klkMBe15yPbey0/edit?usp=sharing], (May-July 2020) * BBC: Covid: Learning disability death rates 'six times higher' [https://www.bbc.com/news/health-54924121] (November 13, 2020)

Is this the New Normal? An introduction

Since the start of 2020, we've added many words and phrases to our global lexicon: Social Distancing. Personal Protective Equipment. Flattening the Curve. In this first mini-episode, I introduce the vision for this project, and why it feels important to create an outlet for processing all that has happened since we first heard the term "COVID-19". So much has changed over the past year-plus, and many are understandably aching for a sense of normalcy. But is that the right inclination? What if we can create a new normal... where the social movements sparked last summer light a path toward sustained equity and institutional change? I am an educator and person living with a disability. My position in life provides a specific perspective on the pandemic, how it has impacted my students and my community. Future episodes will feature friends and other folks living the daily reality of disability in the age of COVID-19. Please leave a voicemail, and let me know what you want to hear. Thanks! Mentioned in the episode: * Harvard Medical School: The Tragedy of Long COVID [https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/the-tragedy-of-the-post-covid-long-haulers-2020101521173]