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This course approaches disability as a cultural category in American society, analyzing how disability intersects with race, gender, class, and sexuality. We will explore a wide range of representations of disability in literature, media, and popular culture from the Progressive Era to contemporary times. The course focuses on pivotal moments like the rise of asylums, the eugenic movement, disability rights activism of the 1970s, and the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act. Through the engagement with primary sources, cultural artifacts, and theoretical texts, we aim to understand how American institutions, cultural narratives, and social movements have shaped—and been shaped by—discourses of ableism and disability.
The learning objectives are: to understand different models of disability (medical, social, cultural), recognize ableism in everyday life and institutions, and analyze representations of disability in cultural texts. Students will learn about the disability rights movement and its ongoing importance for social justice. The course includes experiential learning through engagement with disability history and culture in both the US and Germany. Through visits to significant sites in Berlin such as the T4 Memorial, and encounters with disability activism in both countries, students will gain firsthand understanding of how different societies have approached disability rights and inclusion. Course materials include literature, films, artwork, and historical documents that highlight both the challenges faced by disabled people and the vibrant cultures they have created.
In Seminar 1, students explore foundational theoretical concepts and historical developments in disability studies. In Seminar 2, students apply these theoretical frameworks to analyze cultural texts and contemporary disability activism, connecting disability studies to broader questions of social justice and cultural representation. |
