The purpose of the Disability and Accessibility Studies initiative is to gather and support coursework that examines disability and accessibility from a variety of practical, theoretical, and interdisciplinary perspectives. Courses might examine practical matters such as the legal rights of persons with disabilities and the extent to which these rights are (or are not) realized in various sectors of society; the history of social movements for the recognition and extension of these rights; the scope of disability, including “invisible” disabilities, neurodivergence, chronic illness, and disabilities associated with injury or aging; issues in educational and institutional access such as IDEA, special education, and Universal Design; and the persistence of ableism and compulsory able-bodiedness in all its forms, from the barriers of inaccessible architecture, transport, and technologies to social stigma, pathologization, and discrimination. Courses might also examine such topics as: how disability and accessibility are depicted in cultural practices, from mainstream advertising to critical works of literature, cinema, and art; disability justice and activism; the intersection of disability with other aspects of cultural identity such as race, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, ethnicity, immigration status, and language; various social theories as they relate to disability and access; and the ways that dominant conceptions of health and normalcy influence perceptions about ability/disability, embodiment, and neurodiversity. 

 

 

Course:

ARTH 255  Outsider Art

Professor:

Susan Aberth  

CRN:

90094

Schedule:

 Tue  Thurs    5:40 PM - 7:00 PM Reem Kayden Center 103

Distributional Area:

AA Analysis of Art

Class cap:

22

Credits:

4

The term "Outsider Art" is a problematic umbrella under which are grouped a variety of difficult to categorize artistic practices. This class will first examine the use of terminology such as outsider, naà¯ve, and visionary, as well as groupings such as art brut, folk art, art of the insane, and even popular culture. We will pursue relevant questions such as: what exactly are the criteria for inclusion in such categories, do art markets drive this labeling, how does this work function within the art world, are categorical borders crossed in order to fit the needs of exhibiting institutions, and finally how has Outsider Art impacted mainstream modern and contemporary art and are the dividing lines between the two still relevant? We will look at artwork produced within certain institutional settings such as mental asylums and prisons, as well as that produced by mediums, spiritualists and other "visionaries" working within what can be best described as a "folk art" category.   Art History distribution: Modern

 

Course:

CC 107  Disability and Difference

Professor:

Liz Bowen, Jack Ferver, Kathryn Tabb, and Dumaine Williams  

CRN:

90550

Schedule:

Mon  Wed     2:00 PM – 3:20 PM Campus Center MPR

Distributional Area:

MBV Meaning, Being, Value

PA Practicing Arts

Class cap:

60

Credits:

4

Cross-listed:  Human Rights

Disability and Difference is a Common Course that utilizes close readings of canonical and contemporary texts; movement explorations; film viewings; guest lectures; critical and creative writing assignments; and community involvement to deepen students’ understanding of disability and difference. Professor Bowen will use literature and popular media to examine how the concept of “the human” is shaped by cultural assumptions about ability and normalcy, and explore the artistic practices of disabled artists who disrupt and reimagine ableist notions of what it means to be a human animal. Professor Ferver will be dismantling the notion of “Neutral” through body/mind centered physical practices and performances, leading towards individual empowerment through pleasure and play. Professor Tabb will critically examine work in the philosophy of medicine to ground contemporary disputes over the difference between the normal and the pathological, and consider how the concept of “difference” can shape the future of these debates. Professor Williams will examine how intersectional disability experiences and systems of disadvantage and exclusion impact the formation of disability identity and influence our cultural understanding of disability. Students will work with all four professors in different contexts throughout the course, as well as collaboratively with their classmates on analytic and artistic projects.

 

Course:

HR 189  Human Rights to Civil Rights

Professor:

Kwame Holmes  

CRN:

90134

Schedule:

Mon  Wed     10:20 AM - 11:40 AM Albee 100

Distributional Area:

HA Historical Analysis

D+J Difference and Justice

Class cap:

18

Credits:

4

Cross-listed:  Africana Studies; American Studies

(HRP core course) For much of the 20th century, Civil Rights activists and Human Rights advocates worked hand-in-hand. Their shared target: state actors and global systems that exploited human bodies and denied human dignity in the name of prejudice, nationalism and profit. Yet in the 1960s, a new wave of social movements representing Black, Feminist, LGBTQ, Chicano, Indigenous and Disabled perspectives shattered this consensus, demanding an identity-based approach to civil rights advocacy and pushing against notions of universal human rights. This seminar will introduce students to the history of this conflict, and allow them to explore for themselves the benefits and/or costs of advocating for social justice through the figure of "the human" or through the filter of identity. Students will be introduced to the foundational writings of identity-based movement leaders, with an eye for their applicability to contemporary struggles over immigration, anti-trans violence, mass incarceration and police violence. We will consider the relative efficacy of direct action, lawsuits, media campaigns and civil disobedience.

 

Course:

LIT 3048  Extraordinary Bodies: Disability in American Literature and Culture

Professor:

Jaime Alves  

CRN:

90280

Schedule:

 Tue      6:00 PM - 9:00 PM Reem Kayden Center 101

Distributional Area:

LA Literary Analysis in English

D+J Difference and Justice

Class cap:

10

Credits:

4

Cross-listed:  Human Rights

In this course, we will examine U.S. fiction, non-fiction, poetry, drama, and memoir to understand how writers of the 19th, 20th, and 21st centuries represent the "normal" body, as well as a constellation of bodies presented as extraordinary: bodies that differ from the average at birth or as transformed by illness or war; bodies paraded as "freaks"; bodies that don't fit into established categories. We begin in the early nineteenth century, when popular Enlightenment ideology suggested Americans could control their own destinies, making and remaking their characters, and even their bodies, at will. What ideas emerged here about the kind of self one should make, and the kinds of bodies that should be discarded? How were those ideas proffered in and shaped by literary imaginings? How have they persisted and changed over time, especially in relation to ideas about American identity? Our reading list takes us into the present day, and includes an introduction to the major questions and scholarly perspectives under debate at the intersection of Disability Studies and the study of literature. This course is cross-listed with the MAT program for 4+1 students in literature.

 

Course:

PSY 210  Adult Abnormal Psychology

Professor:

Justin Dainer-Best  

CRN:

90120

Schedule:

Mon  Wed     3:50 PM - 5:10 PM Hegeman 308

Distributional Area:

SA Social Analysis

Class cap:

22

Credits:

4

This course is designed to examine various forms of adult psychopathology (i.e., psychological disorders) within the contexts of theoretical conceptualizations, research, and treatment.  Potential causes of psychopathology, diagnostic classifications, and treatment applications will be addressed.  Adult forms of psychopathology that will receive the primary emphasis of study include the anxiety, mood, eating, and substance-related disorders.  Prerequisites: Introduction to Psychology or permission of instructor. This course fulfills the Cluster A requirement for the Psychology Major.