Interdisciplinary Disability Studies Syllabus

Abstract

This syllabus covers a cross-listed course offered by both the sociology department and the college of interdisciplinary studies. This course seeks to educate students from a variety of backgrounds and majors about the social construction of disability and the processes by which certain bodies are valued and devalued, and how to deconstruct assumptions...

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Details

Subject Area(s):

Disabilities

Resource Type(s):

Syllabus

Class Level(s):

College 400

Class Size(s):

Any

Usage Notes

This syllabus is designed for a 16-week semester. While this particular syllabus is for a synchronous online class, the concept of “participation” can easily be transferred over to an in-person setting.

Learning Goals and Assessments

Learning Goal(s):

1. The goal of this course is to learn that the bodies/minds that we label “disabled” are socially constructed and maintained through representations of disability circulated through society, and is embedded in historical and existing power structure.
2. Disability is just one of many identities a person can hold and thus, it is important to consider intersectionality in examining a person or group’s experience with disability.
3. Definitions of disability and the resources available have changed over time and continue to change through social action.

Goal Assessment(s):

1. Through open-ended papers, students are asked to assess ableism embedded structurally in institutions and policies.
2. Weekly readings and quizzes will address how disability interacts with a person's race, gender, sexuality and other aspects of a person's life. Furthermore, different types of disabilities will have different experiences.
3. Through open-ended papers, students are asked to explore how new theories of disability and activism can lead to social change.