Area of Study: Disability Studies and German Literature
Pronouns: She/her
About: Morgan L Cacic is a disabled academic, children’s book author, #OwnVoices writer of fiction and nonfiction, and social justice activist. She has taught German & English literacy and literature in a variety of capacities in the greater-Madison (WI) area over the past ten years and has an MS in Education: Teaching & Learning, with current WI teaching licenses in Alternative Education and German Language. Since joining the PhD program at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2018, she has completed an MA in German Literature and welcomed two children, one of whom lives with a life-threatening disability. She is currently working to finish her Ph.D., with research interests in the intersections of disability justice, German Literature, and cultivating communities of care in the higher education classroom. She is the current Editorial Assistant to the academic journal Monatshefte and is actively involved in disability initiatives on the UW-Madison campus and in its surrounding communities.
Education:
-BA in German and International Studies; University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh (2012)
-Graduate Teaching Certificate: German Pre-K-12, Alternative Education; Concordia University Wisconsin (2015)
-MS in Education: Teaching & Learning; Concordia University Wisconsin (2017)
-MA in German; University of Wisconsin-Madison (2021)
Research & Publications:
On Goethe, Mental Health, and Accepting Disclosure of Disability: The German Literary Canon and the 21st-Century Classroom
In: Behinderung in der deutschsprachigen Literatur. Beiheft für die Zeitschrift Jahrbuch für internationale Germanistik.
Peter Lang, Forthcoming 2024
Imagining World Otherwise & Cultivating Communities of Care: Invisible Disability, the German Literary Canon,
and the Higher Education Classroom
Dissertation Research, In Progress
The Kindness Crew: Duggidy Puggidy has Type 1 Diabetes
Inclusive Children’s Book Series – Book Three
AK Brewer Publishing, Forthcoming 2024
Just Hold On: A love letter to a lost soul
Young Adult #OwnVoices Novel on Mental Health, Personal Relationships & Invisible Disability
AK Brewer Publishing, 2024
The Kindness Crew: Yabbity Crabbity is Non-binary!
Inclusive Children’s Book Series – Book Two
AK Brewer Publishing, 2024
“Personalia”
Monatshefte Issue 115.4
University of Wisconsin Press, 2023
“Personalia”
Monatshefte Issue 114.4
University of Wisconsin Press, 2022
The Kindness Crew: Iggidy and Higgidy at School
Inclusive Children’s Book Series – Book One
AK Brewer Publishing, 2022
“Increasing Written Proficiency in a World Language”
Action research with quantitative data analysis
Stoughton (WI) Area School District, 2016
Clinical Teaching Evaluation and Analysis
Curriculum development, instructional practices, culturally responsive
teaching, using authentic materials, differentiating for diverse learners,
special education, and inclusive practices
Wisconsin Public & Private School Systems, 2013-2015
Service to the Profession & Community Engagement:
Reviewer, Graduate Student Suicide Prevention Training
University Health Services (UW-Madison), 2024
Participant, National Institutes of Health All of Us Research Program
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2023-Present
Trainer, Department of Human Resources Perspective Series: Ableism & Disability Awareness
University of Wisconsin-Madison, 2023-Present
University Committee on Disability, Access, and Inclusion (CDAI)
University of Wisconsin-Madison, 2023-Present
CDAI Instructional Access Subcommittee
University of Wisconsin-Madison, 2023-Present
Department of German, Nordic, Slavic+ (GNS+) Committee on Diversity and Climate Affiliate
University of Wisconsin-Madison, 2023-Present
German and Dutch Graduate Student Association (GDGSA) Committee on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, Co-Chair
University of Wisconsin-Madison, 2023-Present
Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF) Team Organizer
Madison, WI and Surrounding Communities, 2023-Present
Community Volunteer, “What is Disability?” for Early Childhood Education
St. James School, Madison, WI, 2023
Adapted Youth Programming Volunteer
Madison (Wisconsin) School & Community Recreation, 2023
Awards, Distinctions, and Fellowships:
Graduate Student Service Scholarship, UW-Madison (2024)
LMU-Princeton Summer Seminar Selected Participant and Scholarship Recipient, Princeton University (2024)
Theodora Herfurth Kubly Scholarship Award, McBurney Disability Resource Center (2023)
Edward D. Morris Memorial Scholarship Award, McBurney Disability Resource Center (2023)
Institute for World Literature Selected Participant and Scholarship Recipient, Harvard University (2023)
Professional Development Scholarship Award, University of Wisconsin-Madison (2023)
Ethelmae S. Merriam Academic Scholarship Award, McBurney Disability Resource Center (2021)
Academic Excellence Scholarship Award, University of Wisconsin-Madison (2020)
Graduate School Fellowship Award, University of Wisconsin-Madison (2020)
Herb Kohl Educational Foundation Teaching Award Finalist (2017)
Excellence in German Award, University of Wisconsin, Oshkosh (2011)
Additional Coursework and Training:
Neurodivergence & Diversity in the Classroom // Disability Studies // At-Risk Education // Analysis of Instruction // Curriculum Development // Special Education // Methods of Teaching // Educational Psychology // Dutch Literature & Culture // Jewish Literatures in Diaspora // Literature Course Design in Higher Education // Planning and Assessing for Communicative Language Instruction // Berlin Literature & Culture // Integrated Culture and Authentic Materials // Social Justice // Multiculturalism in (Special) Education // Literature in Translation // Instructional Access // Community Care in the Higher Education Classroom // Teaching Fiction // Teaching about Disability with Fiction // Models and Frameworks of Disability // Responsively Integrated Communitites of Care (RICC) (Cacic 2024)