Disability and Development

Catalog description

How is disability understood across cultures and how does the understanding of this disability inhibit or influence development for persons with disabilities? This course will explore the way in which disability is created in developing countries and the extent to which the prevalence and pattern of impairments is a function of poverty. Attention will be given to the ways in which impairments are perceived and responded to across cultural contexts. Models and definitions of disability which underlie policy and practice will be critically reviewed, with particular reference to definitions developed by the WHO and organization of persons with disabilities (OPDs). The way in which the incidence of impairment and the experience of disability vary by gender will be assessed. The role of governments, carers and of the wider community in facilitating capabilities of PWDS being fully realized or inhibited will be considered, as will the experience of PWDS within the educational system and the wider economy. Finally, the impact of policy and the contribution of donors, NGOs and OPDS to a fuller claim on the rights and responsibilities of citizenship will be addressed. This course includes a regional academic seminar to Zimbabwe. This course will be offered in June-Term 2025.