Studies in Disability & Literature

Catalog description

This writing-intensive course provides an in-depth study of literature written about and by people with various disabilities. Students will be introduced to the foundational elements of Disability Studies as an interdisciplinary and theoretical approach and will analyze how literary texts engage with disability as a complex social, cultural, and political identity. Specific topics will vary by instructor and may include: examining the role literature has played in both producing and resisting cultural stereotypes about disability; highlighting how literary productions by authors with disabilities foster disability culture; and exploring how the concerns of the disability community intersect with those of a range of other marginalized social groups. Course work will include discussion and research of relevant cultural and historical matters, frequent written analyses of course texts and contexts, sustained analytic essays, and student-led discussion and/or class presentations.