Interdisciplinary Seminar Series 2023/2024
Food insecurity, disability, and access to multiple social welfare programs
Speaker: Lauren Toppenberg, School of Social Work, Columbia University
Wednesday Apr. 3rd, 12-1pm
Recording is available at this link.
Summary:
Households with disability face a heightened risk of food insecurity. In turn, food insecurity can lead to deteriorating health and diet quality, which can worsen health conditions and impairments. Such a scenario has the potential to strain the social welfare system, particularly Social Security Agency (SSA) benefits, as food insecurity could lead to increases in disability benefit claims or increased healthcare costs for programs like Medicare and Medicaid. Yet, little research has delved into how households with disability engage with programs across the social welfare system and, even more so, how this collective participation relates to food insecurity. Utilizing data from the 2014 and 2018 Survey of Income and Program Participation, I aim to unravel individual and collective participation rates across sixteen social welfare programs for households with disability and to shed light on how the selection into and participation in multiple programs are connected to food insecurity. By adopting an intersectional approach, with a focus on how households with disability access and participate in multiple social welfare programs, this research will provide insights into the intricate relationship between need, resources, and food insecurity. Results could help SSA in improving their understanding of how current and prospective beneficiaries utilize social welfare programs to address food insecurity.
Bios:
Lauren Toppenberg is a PhD candidate and researcher at the Columbia University School of Social Work. Her research focuses on the intersection of household well-being and social and economic policies, with a particular interest in understanding how the social welfare system impacts food insecurity for households with disability. Prior to pursuing her PhD, Lauren served as an evaluation strategy manager at Feeding Texas, a network of 21 food banks across the state of Texas. In this role, she sought to explain how state and federally-sponsored food bank programming impacted food insecure households and their health and well-being outcomes. Lauren holds a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from Tulane University, as well as Masters’ degrees in Public Health and Public Affairs from the University of Texas.
Learning Disability Justice: Making Research Accessible through Critical Participatory Action Research
Speaker: Laura Wernick, Graduate School of Social Services, Fordham University
March 5th, 2024 from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m.
Summary:
Academic programs, especially tenure structures, are rooted in ableism, White supremacy culture, and neoliberalism. This interdisciplinary seminar will focus on my recent article that draws upon my career using critical participatory action research (CPAR) as a community organizer and an academic with learning disabilities & ADHD. In this talk, I will discuss how bridging CPAR and disability justice provides an exciting framework whereby academics with disabilities, and our accomplices, can make research more accessible to communities organizing for change and academics with disabilities, while simultaneously challenging oppressive academic structures.
Bio:
Laura J. Wernick, LMSW, MPA, PhD is an Associate Professor at the Fordham University Graduate School of Social Service and a life-long organizer/activist. Using predominantly participatory action research, their scholarship uses a disability justice lens to explore how transformative organizing models address intersectional issues of power, oppression, healing and change within their movement organizing. Laura’s work has focused on organizing LGBTQ+ youth, low-income youth of color, young adult activists with wealth, and employers of domestic workers. Their current research is examining ableism & white supremacy culture in the social work academy.
Voters' reactions to candidates with mental illness: A stereotyping approach
Speakers: Jacob Smith and Monika McDermott, Political Science, Fordham University
February 14th, 2024 from 12 p.m. to 1 p.m.
Summary:
According to data from Mental Health America, approximately one of every five Americans has a mental illness, but few politicians are open about their own mental health challenges. In this paper, we analyze a survey experiment we conducted with Verasight testing the public’s reactions to hypothetical candidates with admitted mental health struggles, namely depression and bipolar disorder, and whether or not the stigma attached to the issue carries over into willingness to support a candidate in an election. In this study, we draw upon existing studies on how candidate characteristics affect stereotypes among voters and, ultimately, their willingness to support candidates from both parties who have disclosed struggles with mental health. Our findings have important implications for understanding the extent to which voters are willing to support candidates who have a mental illness.
Bios:
Monika L. McDermott is Professor of Political Science at Fordham University. She researches political psychology, voting, and gendered influences in politics. She co-authored the book Americans, Congress, and Democratic Responsiveness (2009, Michigan), and she is the author of Masculinity, Femininity, and American Political Behavior (2016, Oxford). Her scholarly articles have appeared in a wide range of political science journals, including the American Journal of Political Science, and the Journal of Politics.
Jacob F. H. Smith is Assistant Professor of Political Science at Fordham University. Jacob's research focuses on Congress, elections, public policy, and disability and politics. Jacob is the author of Minority Party Misery: Political Powerlessness and Electoral Disengagement, published by University of Michigan Press in 2021. He is currently working on his second book Waves of Discontent: Electoral Volatility, Public Policymaking, and the Health of American Democracy.