WMST 0006 - Introduction to Disability Studies

Catalog Description

Hours: 54 lecture
Description: Overview of the social and personal meaning of disability and chronic illness. Students will explore definitions and conceptual models for the study of disability, the history of disabled people, bio-ethical perspectives, the depiction of disability in literature and the arts, public attitudes, and legal/social policies. The course will investigate the intersections of disability with social factors such as gender, sexual orientation, race, ethnicity, and class. Community engagement is a key component throughout the course. (CSU)

Course Student Learning Outcomes

• CSLO #1: Exhibit an understanding of how gender, race, class, sexuality, ethnicity, age, and nationality intersect with disability to shape experience.
• CSLO #2: Explain the emergence of the Disability Culture and Community, political activism, and the Disability Rights Movement.
• CSLO #3: Investigate the cultural, intersectional, linguistic, and scientific influences/biases on identification of persons with disabilities. 

Effective Term

Fall 2024

Course Type

Credit - Degree-applicable

Contact Hours

54

Outside of Class Hours

108

Total Student Learning Hours

162

Course Objectives

General Education Information

• Approved College Associate Degree GE Applicability
  • AA/AS - Social Sciences
• CSU GE Applicability (Recommended-requires CSU approval)
  • CSUGE - D Social Sciences
• Cal-GETC Applicability (Recommended - Requires External Approval)
  • Cal-GETC 4 - Social and Behavioral Sciences
• IGETC Applicability (Recommended-requires CSU/UC approval)

Articulation Information

• CSU Transferable
• UC Transferable

Methods of Evaluation

• Classroom Discussions
  • Example: The instructor presents a documentary film focused on the history of the ADA from the perspective of several key activists. The instructor leads a discussion on the contextual evolution of this Disability Community.
• Essay Examinations
  • Example: Select one of the two essay questions. Citation of sources is expected such as “Wong, 95.” A. What is meant by the idea that in mental illness, there is a “politics of diagnosis?” Give four examples. B. Describe Foucault’s idea of “biopower” and apply it in three distinct applications when considering Disability Activists and “the right for life.”
• Objective Examinations
  • Example: 1. The Supreme Court ruled in Olmstead v. L.C. (1999) that A. discrimination based on age was illegal. B. people with developmental disabilities are citizens. C. people with developmental disabilities could not be forcefullysegregated in their housing. D. education is a constitutional right
• Projects
  • Example: Choose two types of public buildings and post those choices onto the Discussion Board. Visit each of the buildings and investigate as many areas as possible. Considering both the ADA and the spirit of the ADA, photograph or describe how well the building design did in terms of Radical Inclusion. Report to the class your findings with your evidence and your suggestions for improvement.
• Reports
  • Example: Choose one Nation from the list provided in the Module. Using UN, WHO, and national data, report on their status of Human Rights for the Disabled in a two-page paper. Be certain to also describe the overall status of rights for gender, race, class, sexuality, and ethnicity as well in that nation.

Repeatable

No

Methods of Instruction

• Lecture/Discussion
• Distance Learning

Lecture:

1. The Instructor presents a showcase of Crippen comics and engages the class in a discussion of the politics of disability in the Disability Art Movement through the lens of the Social Model Understanding of Disability

Distance Learning

1. The instructor posts several salient media articles on the learning management system and writes relevant prompts. Students chose one article and prompt from the options provided. Using Critical Feminist Theory, students participate in an online discussion of their chosen article.

Typical Out of Class Assignments

Reading Assignments

Read Chapter Six, "The Progressive Era" in "A Disability Reader." Students will discuss social factors associated with the secularization of interpreting what qualifies as the sanctity of human life.

Writing, Problem Solving or Performance

Read the SOAS paper on "Freak Shows, Colonial Exhibitions, and Spectatorship. Consider how your own role as a media spectator. In writing, contextualize what you learned about Disability and difference from films, television, books and so-forth. Post to the discussion board, actual "learnings" and how they influenced your understanding of humanity.

Other (Term projects, research papers, portfolios, etc.)

The purpose of this paper is for you to investigate your community and its support for the self-determination transition planning procedures for intellectually and physically challenged students. Consider what significant factors are needed and what systems are necessary to be in place for an integrated society. In three to four pages, report (A) what is needed, (B) what exists and (C), what would be necessary to move to Radical Inclusion in your community.

Required Materials

• A Disability History of the United States
  • Author: Kim Nielsen
  • Publisher: Beacon Press
  • Publication Date: 2012
  • Text Edition: 1
  • Classic Textbook?: No
  • OER Link:
  • OER:
• A Disability Reader
  • Author: Alice Wong
  • Publisher: Vintage
  • Publication Date: 2020
  • Text Edition: 1
  • Classic Textbook?: No
  • OER Link:
  • OER:
• Introducing Disability Studies
  • Author: Ronald J. Berger & Loren Wilbers
  • Publisher: Lynne Reinner
  • Publication Date: 2020
  • Text Edition: 2
  • Classic Textbook?: Yes
  • OER Link:
  • OER:
• CareWork: Dreaming Disability Justice
  • Author: Piepzna-Samarasinha & LeahLakshmi
  • Publisher: Arsenal Pulp Press
  • Publication Date: 2018
  • Text Edition: 1
  • Classic Textbook?: No
  • OER Link:
  • OER:

Other materials and-or supplies required of students that contribute to the cost of the course.