Center for Disability Studies

The Center for Disability Studies (CDS) at New York University (NYU) is a United States-based institute that promotes disability scholarship, artistic works, and activism.

NYU Center for Disability Studies

Founded	2017
Founders	Mara Mills[1] Faye Ginsburg
Type	501(c)(3) Nonprofit organization
Location	New York, New York, U.S.
Website	disabilitystudies.nyu.edu

History

The Center for Disability Studies was founded in 2017 by Mara Mills and Faye Ginsburg.

Shortly after its founding, the center hosted Disability/Arts/NYC (DANT), an advocacy organization that contributed to the 2017 CreateNYC cultural plan for New York City.^[2]

Research and Publications

The center sponsors research on the cultural, historical, legal, and ethical contexts of disability through grant-funded and collaborative projects.^[3] Research partnerships run by the center include a collaboration between AI Now and CDS on the 2019 report, Disability, Bias, and AI.^[4]

With Film Quarterly, CDS published a special issue and series of events on disability film and media in 2022–2023.^[5] Further publications facilitated by the center include How to be Disabled in a Pandemic, an edited volume documenting the experiences of disabled New Yorkers during the COVID-19 pandemic, selected by Ms. Magazine as one of the “Most Anticipated Books of 2025”, and Crip Authorship: Disability as Method, a book that presented the multidisciplinary methods advanced by disability studies, arts, and activism.^[6][7] Crip Authorship was selected as a 2024 CHOICE Outstanding Academic Title.^[8]

Community Initiatives

The Center for Disability Studies runs a series of artist talks and events.^[9][10] It has also partnered with a number of arts organizations including The Whitney Museum of American Art,^[11] Electronic Arts Intermix,^[12] The Guggenheim Museum,^[13] the Leslie-Lohman Museum of Art,^[14] EFA Project Space,^[15] and the New York ReelAbilities Film Festival to support disability-justice informed events and digital accessibility projects.^[16]

In addition, the center helped pilot the Cooke School and Institute SKILLS Transition Program through a community collaboration.^[17]

On the NYU campus, CDS coordinates an undergraduate Disability Studies Minor and co-sponsored a Disability Student Union and a Provostial Working Group addressing disability, infrastructure, and access.^[18][19]