The primary aim of this course is to develop critical thinking about diversity and create awareness regarding assumptions about disability. Students will explore historical and contemporary concepts and models of disability, and analyze selected literary texts in English through the lens of disability studies. By adopting a human rights perspective, students will look at the experiences of people with disabilities and the concept of disability from a critical standpoint.
Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to:
1.Critically reflect on ways in which disability is defined, theorized and represented in literature,
2.Inspect the assumptions surrounding disability, along with the intersectional power structures of gender, race, age and class,
3.Develop a comprehensive understanding of how patterns of ableism influence individuals’ ways of thinking,
4.Apply the principles of disability studies to literary texts in English, interpreting them from a disability perspective.