Registration is required to attend the DISCO Summit. Due to limited space in the venue, in-person registration will close once we reach our maximum capacity for each panel. If you would like to attend the DISCO Summit virtually via Zoom webinar, register here.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.We would like to thank the following 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 & GenderAccessibility statement: We strive to make our events accessible to all participants.
Communication Access Real-time Translation (CART) services will be provided.
The event space is ADA-compliant.
Gender-neutral and accessible restrooms are available in the event space.
A quiet space will be available.
The event planning team will work to minimize any potential sensory triggers, such as loud noises or flickering lights.
All attendees are requested to refrain from using scented products, such as perfume or cologne. Unscented products will be provided at the event space.
All attendees are requested to wear well-fitting masks. Masks 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.