Squeaky Wheel Writing Workshop: Disability & Humor

Limited spots! RSVP at https://go.uic.edu/SqueakyWheel

The date is not a joke.

Event description

Co-sponsored by the UIC Department of Disability & Human Development

Join writers from The Squeaky Wheel, a The Onion-style disability satire and humor website, for a writing workshop!

In this workshop, participants will learn how humor can be used to combat ableism, and will start to write their very own satire story.

What to expect

This is a writing workshop--please bring a device so you can write in a shared doc!
This workshop has six parts:

1. Disability & Humor
   We talk about how disabled people use humor in their day-to-day lives and how humor can be used to combat ableism.
2. Introduction to Satire-Writing
   Students learn about popular internet satire publications and discuss various headlines to learn the style.
3. Headline Writing
   Each student will write their very own satire headline based on their experiences as a disabled person.
4. Headline Share
   Students can optionally share their headlines with the group.
5. Story Writing
   Each student will expand their headline into a short, 4-sentence story.
6. Story Share
   Students can optionally share their finished story drafts with the group.

About Squeaky Wheel

Launched in 2021, The Squeaky Wheel is the first-ever satire publication that focuses on the experience of having a disability. It challenges common misconceptions, highlights absurdity, criticizes imbalances, and does it all with humor.

As a nonprofit, Squeaky Wheel is dedicated to their missions of giving writing opportunities to disabled people, amplifying disabled voices, and combating ableism by educating the public.

Audience note: This event is open to everyone. UIC-affiliated people will get priority but community members can RSVP to express interest in being put on a wait list.

Covid safety: UIC does not require masking, but we still mask in our spaces as an accessibility measure for chronically ill / immunocompromised folks. If it’s accessible to you, please wear a mask! We’ll have extras on hand. Zoom is another Covid-cautious option.

Access Information: We’ll have CART (live captions) in Zoom and projected into the in-person space. The DCC is on the 2nd floor and accessible via elevator. UIC is not a fragrance-free campus, but please refrain from wearing scents to maintain a low-fragrance environment. Let us know about any other access requests at dcc@uic.edu or 312-355-7050!

Flyer description: A Squeaky Wheel logo at the top has a blue dripping wheel and the tagline: “Be loud. Be disabled. Be squeaky.” Below is the workshop title, day/time and blurb (transcribed above) with three sample headlines from Squeaky Wheel, each with a stock image. They read “Woman Can’t Tell If Diarrhea From Crohn’s Disease or State of the World,” “‘It’s Not a Disability, It’s Your Superpower!’ Says Stranger to Person Currently Having a Seizure,” and “Airline Breaks Patron’s Wheelchair, Enacts Swift Protocol of Gently Patting Shoulder, Apologizing.” At the bottom are logos for UIC Disability & Human Development and UIC Disability Cultural Center.