Alida Boorn Disability Studies and Disabled Scholar Award

The Alida Boorn Disability Studies and Disabled Scholar Award promotes the place of disability and all of the ramifications that disability, diversity, equity, accessibility, and inclusion have had in the history of the North American West. The award supports scholars who study this history, whether these scholars have a disability or not. The $1,000 award, funded by independent blind historian Alida Boorn, supports two graduate students ($1,000 per award) who either are working in the fields of disability studies and western history OR identify as disabled and who wish to attend the WHA conference with financial assistance. Funding from the award assists their ability to research and present academic papers and network with other scholars at the annual WHA conferences. Applicants are not required to be conference program participants (presenters, panelists, chairs, etc.). The purpose of this award is to bring awareness about how American communities in the North American West approached persons with sensory, physical, and neurological diverse disabilities in order to understand both how and why current American communities and governments approach the contributions of disabled persons. The study of disability in Western History seeks to understand society's perceptions of disability both today and yesterday, examining how certain laws were written about how persons with sensory, physical, and mental disabilities should be treated by their communities, families, and society in general, and how disability directed citizenship, voting rights, health care, education, and employment opportunities.