Course Objectives

This course is designed to increase student awareness of personal, interpersonal, and societal aspects of disability, including how disability can be defined and understood differently in varied individual, institutional, and cultural contexts. Students will learn models of disability that will help them to (a) clearly distinguish different ways of conceptualizing disability, and (b) critically think about how disability is represented and understood in varied contexts. Through discussion of class readings and completion of class assignments, students will examine the ethical, economic, and social implications of disability and the dynamics of group and individual behavior that impact social interactions among people with and without disabilities. A strong emphasis will also be placed on understanding disability from a variety of cultural perspectives and assessing the impact of racial, ethnic, gender, socioeconomic, and sociopolitical factors on disability status. At the end of this course, students should be able to do the following:

1. Demonstrate an understanding of disability culture.
2. Discuss attitudes towards people with disabilities.
3. Discuss the critical role of the disability rights and independent living movements on people with disabilities.
4. Describe the models of disability that provide theoretical understanding of the personal, interpersonal, and societal responses to disability.
5. Identify ethical implications associated with varied models of defining and understanding disability.
6. Explain the impact of social and attitudinal factors on individuals with disabilities.
7. Demonstrate sensitivity to and awareness of the effects of prejudice and discrimination specific to people with disabilities.