Friday, June 14 – Saturday, June 15, 2024

Location: Weiser Hall, 10th Floor, University of Michigan-Ann Arbor 

Modality: Hybrid (all events will be held in-person with an option for individuals to attend virtually via Zoom)

Registration is required to attend the DISCO Summit.

The deadline for in-person registration is Tuesday, May 14, 2024. Register to attend in-person: https://myumi.ch/Pkrgg. Due to limited space in the venue, in-person registration will close once we reach our maximum capacity.

Zoom webinar registration will be open until the end of the event. Register to attend via Zoom: https://myumi.ch/N61QZ

Event Description:

The DISCO Summit is a two-day interdisciplinary summer symposium about digital social inequalities in celebration of the third year of the DISCO Network. The DISCO Summit will include nine panel conversations about the past, present, and future of the intersection between digital technology, culture, race, disability, gender, sexuality, and liberation.

The DISCO Network is a collaborative, intergenerational group of scholars dedicated to envisioning a new anti-racist and anti-ableist digital future. The network comprises six labs across five universities: the Michigan Hub at the University of Michigan Digital Studies Institute (PI: Lisa Nakamura, University of Michigan), HAT Lab (PI: Rayvon Fouché; Northwestern University), DAF Lab (PI: M. Remi Yergeau, University of Michigan), Future Histories Studio (PI: Stephanie Dinkins, Stony Brook University), PREACH Lab (PI: André Brock, Georgia Institute of Technology), and BCaT Lab (PI: Catherine Knight Steele, University of Maryland-College Park). The DISCO Network is supported by the Mellon Foundation.

This event is free and open to the public. The DISCO Summit provides a platform for scholars, students, artists, practitioners, activists, and community members to convene and engage in dialogue about racial inequality, histories of exclusion, disability justice, techno-ableism, and digital racial politics within the academy, the technology industry, and beyond. We especially welcome individuals whose interests lie in the intersection of the digital and identity and have found difficulties pursuing their endeavors at their home institutions.

Accessibility + Covid

We strive to make our events accessible to all participants.

  • Communication Access Real-time Translation (CART) services will be provided.

  • All attendees are requested to wear well-fitting masks. Masks will be provided at the event space.

  • The event space is ADA-compliant.

  • Gender-neutral and accessible restrooms are available in the event space.

  • A quiet space will be available nearby.

  • The event planning team has worked to mitigate potential sensory triggers, such as loud buzzing sounds or flickering lights, in the event space. Individuals with sensory sensitivities should be aware that there is a possibility of unpredictable sound or lighting changes during the event.

  • Per the request of our speakers, all attendees are requested to refrain from using scented products, such as perfume or cologne. Unscented products (e.g., soap, hand sanitizer) will be provided at the event space.

  • A digital copy of the event program will be made available at least a week prior to the event.

  • For those who are unable to attend the event in-person, a livestream viewing option is available.

  • More detailed information about the event space (including how to access it and how the space will be arranged) will be made available on our website.

  • If there are additional ways that we can meet your access needs, please indicate this in the registration form. Please register as soon as possible as some accommodations may require advance coordination.

For all inquiries related to the DISCO Summit, please contact Cherice Chan, DISCO Network Program Coordinator, at chericec@umich.edu.

Event Co-sponsors

  • Department of Afroamerican and African Studies

  • Department of American Culture

  • Department of Communication and Media

  • Department of English Literature and Language

  • Department of Film, Television, and Media

  • Department of History

  • Department of History of Art

  • Eisenberg Institute for Historical Studies

  • Science, Technology, and Society Program

  • University of Michigan Initiative on Disability Studies

  • Center for Racial Justice

  • Science, Technology, and Public Policy

  • Office of Multi-Ethnic Student Affairs

  • Spectrum Center

  • Marsal Family School of Education Office of Diversity, Inclusion, Justice, and Equity

  • Computer Science and Engineering

  • Center for Ethics, Society, and Computing

  • Institute for Research on Women & Gender