Disability Law and Policy

Catalog description

This is a course about human difference and the law. Specifically, it is about the human difference of disability. Disability directly affects over 1 billion persons in the world today - or at least 15% of any given population. The course will explore the profound shift in values in recent years from a traditional welfare, charity or 'medical model' of disability to a 'social model' and onwards to a 'human rights model.' It will track how these changes in values has been reflected in law - both national and international. It will examine some of the core features and rights contained in the UN convention on the rights of persons with disabilities (UN CRPD) and it will connect the disability rights debate to ongoing and broader challenges facing humanity including armed conflicts, climate change and the epoch changing impact of Artificial Intelligence.