DS2100: Breaking Barriers: Disability and Social Change

Disability typically affects all human beings. It is also commonly associated with limitations in valued life experiences. This may be a personal and life-long experience or the experience of a family member, friend, classmate or co-worker. This course examines why and how certain characteristics are classified as “disability” and lead to limitations, even discrimination. The focus is on developing a framework for analysis that will lead students to identify disability related social bias, understand the historical, cultural and sociopolitical contexts in which this bias is shaped, and engage in a plan to promote equity. In the attempt to understand the social construction of disability we will draw upon various theoretical perspectives and explore intersections with race, class, gender, and other forms of identity, difference and exclusion. This course is appropriate for majors across the disciplines. It provides a useful framework for addressing pragmatic and social justice issues in all aspects of society including education, business, the arts, media, communications, economics, social services and the physical and health sciences.

Disability related bias is entrenched in globally held assumptions, ideologies and ways of organizing our social world which make change a significant challenge. The most innovative advances in addressing bias stem from a blend of scholarship and activism. This course is grounded in a research-based analytic framework that will guide students to understand the roots of inequity. This deep level of analysis will position students to address complex social barriers. More specifically, this course will empower students to take action to address the complex issue of disability inclusion and equity in the following ways. 

1. As students understand the socially constructed nature of disability, they realize the potential for change and that their own views and actions have an impact. As agents of change, this course emphasizes the importance of personal reflection as well as centering the perspectives of those with lived experience with disability. This will be enhanced by including the perspective of those who have been at the farthest margins of exclusion through guest visits and narratives. 

2. With the opportunity to identify the range of factors and contexts associated with disability related bias, students are empowered to develop relevant, wide scope and more effective strategies for change. Inherent in this is the ability to anticipate and respond to sources of resistance. 

3. The collaborative analytic process used in this course each week is designed to build coherency and fluency that supports in-depth processing, provide a frame of reference for forming judgments and challenging dominant ideologies, and for accountability – addressing unsupported challenges and personal opinion. It is also expected to build students’ capacity for facilitating such a process as future leaders. 

Ideally, offering this course over time will lead to a means for sharing a collection of student initiatives. This has the potential to serve as a source for informing and spurring ongoing efforts in a range of contexts.