Welcome to the AAA Accessibility & Accommodations landing page! The American Anthropological Association is committed to ensuring it is accessible and goes beyond the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requirements.
In our dedication to moving beyond the ADA, we have developed this accessibility & accommodations web section. This section has been developed by the new Accessibility & Meetings Manager in collaboration with various accessibility community members. These pages outline the supports available from AAA and the expectations of event attendees that will help us cultivate an accessible culture within the Association. We strive to nourish an environment where Disabled, Deaf, Blind, Autistic, Neurodivergent, Mentally Ill, Chronically Ill, Aging, and other disability-adjacent community members can comfortably and meaningfully attend AAA events.
As we cultivate a more accessible anthropology discipline, join us on Twitter using #AccessibleAnthro for critical conversations and to find important resources and news articles about accessibility.
Accessibility includes multiple moving parts, which means creating accessible spaces requires the joint effort of everyone sharing the space. Therefore, AAA greatly appreciates all of our members joining alongside us as we cultivate a cultural change in our association to ensure that all our members may participate in all aspects of AAA.
The practices and guidelines below help all of us foster accessible spaces.
The Accessibility Tips, Tricks, and Tools page linked below can help you determine what resources you can review to successfully implement accessible practices. We encourage you to support and utilize accessible practices in as many spaces as you can.
While we aim for fully accessible spaces for all attendees, we recognize that we cannot be fully aware of everyone’s individual access needs. We also understand that because of different access needs and experiences, as an association, we may encounter access and accommodation contradictions, where people’s needs interfere with each other. Therefore, we aim to provide accommodations while also balancing the individual access needs of all parties involved.
To ensure that we provide the best support possible to you, your needs, and your experiences, we invite you to directly communicate with us about your access needs and accommodation requests based on these needs. Request accommodations for this year's AAA Annual Meeting by visiting the link below!
To learn more about Common Terms related to Accessibility & Accommodations, please review our Common Accessibility Terms page.
In 2019, the American Anthropological Association hired its first Accessibility & Meetings Coordinator as a new role for AAA and for academic associations in general. This role centers accessibility as an issue to be considered in all initiatives from the ground up and not as an afterthought. The AAA Accessibility & Meetings Manager aims to promote disability and accessibility culture in the Association at large and does so by working with AAA members and staff, especially individuals who are also members of the Disabled, Deaf, Blind, Autistic, Neurodivergent, Spoonie, and other communities that require accessible spaces. Through these efforts, the Manager is responsible for the development and direction of the Association’s accessibility and accommodation initiatives, whether in AAA’s meetings, conferences, or communications. Alongside accessibility initiatives, the Manager provides logistical support for the AAA Meetings team.
Nell identifies as a hearing, sighted, physically disabled, and neurodivergent, queer, white woman. She has been a disability rights and disability justice activist, especially within academic and student spaces, and has spearheaded and supported accessibility initiatives in various academic and activist spaces. She completed her Master of Science in Disability & Human Development at the University of Illinois at Chicago and her Bachelors of Art in Anthropology & European Studies at Vanderbilt University. She is excited for the accessibility and accommodation initiatives she is leading at AAA.
[Image description: Nell, a white woman with short black hair, wears thick, black-rimmed glasses and smiles at the camera. She also wears a collared, button-up shirt that is white with a dark quatrefoil pattern; a black and gold diagonal stripe bow tie; and a glass pendant necklace. She is outside on a sunny day and leans back on the concrete structure behind her.]
