Faculty Fellows: Distributed Communities with Julia Watts Belser
In the first of eight Faculty Fellow salons, Professor Julia Watts Belser of the Disability Studies program led a gathering to reflect on and reimagine access and convening during the pandemic and beyond. Discussion focused on the ways in which both secular and religious communities have adjusted to meeting virtually during the pandemic.
“For me, the Fellows session was an opportunity to think with an extraordinary group of people about questions of power, equity, inequality, access, and the sudden transformation of norms that so many of us have been experiencing,” Belser said.
The pandemic has drastically changed the way we interact with others, and has forced each of us to reevaluate the way we move through the world. During her session, Belser guided discussions on accessibility, considering the problems that may arise for remote, decentralized communities meeting virtually. How do online meetings lower barriers of access? At the same time, how might they prevent certain groups, like those without internet or those who require closed captioning, from accessing community gatherings?
“It’s not just a question of thinking only about access in a technical sense, but also thinking about how we create and reshape different norms and expectations of what it means to belong and be present,” Belser notes.
“It’s not just a question of thinking only about access in a technical sense, but also thinking about how we create and reshape different norms and expectations of what it means to belong and be present.”
Participants used Jamboard, an online brainstorming tool, to share thoughts and ideas throughout. They began by responding to prompts about their own personal communities during quarantine, thinking about the ways in which their groups had adapted to virtual spaces. What new, unexpected norms and opportunities had emerged within their communities as a result?
Reflecting on their responses, the group discussed the power dynamics of Zoom meetings (the norm of being on mute, exposure to the home lives of others, etc.) and the burnout many have experienced after nearly a year in virtual workspaces. Belser, who is a wheelchair user, observed that online meetings allow her to enter and leave gatherings with ease—the click of a single button—eliminating many of the physical barriers present in offline settings.
“I’ve been able to enter synagogue spaces, for example, that are inaccessible to me as a wheelchair user in the flesh. So for the first time, during the pandemic, I’ve been able to enter into some of these places and be a part of some of these communities.”
But she noted the mixed feelings that have come with these changes. Suddenly, so many spaces have been made accessible—changes that people in the disabled community have been requesting for years. It was simultaneously a victory for accessibility and a source of frustration for those who could have benefited from these accommodations much earlier.
The hope is that these services won’t be eliminated once in-person meetings return. Looking to the future, the group brainstormed how to use the lessons of the virtual world to create more equitable, accessible spaces. Beyond increasing accessibility in meeting spaces, participants considered how these lessons could be applied more broadly to reimagine our communities post-quarantine.
“When we more deeply understand the way virtual community and remote access has been working in our lives...it becomes really urgent, I think, to incorporate the best of these experiences going forward in ways that enhance and increase access for a wider group of people,” Belser reflects.
Belser plans to incorporate the topics discussed at the faculty fellows session in an "Analyzing Access Project" that will be part of her Religion and Disability Studies course this semester.
Read more about the course and Belser’s prior collaborations with the Lab here.
The Faculty Fellows pilot program was made possible through the generous support ofMonica Lopez and Sameer Gandhi.