Course Syllabus

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DIS ST / HSTCMP 402 & 502 Topics in Disability History

Instructor: Joanne Woiak, jwoiak@uw.edu

Summer 2024 A-Term, distance learning

Topic: Race, Place, and Family Disability Histories

Imada 9780520343856.jpgHylton MADNESS-bestseller-cover-HC.webp

 

Announcements:

Class meetings via Zoom Join URL:  https://washington.zoom.us/j/97594639397

 

Distance learning course delivery plan:

  • This will be an entirely DISTANCE LEARNING course. Synchronous class on Zoom will meet only on Tuesdays and Thursdays 1:50-4:00pm. All other lectures, podcasts, and films will be asynchronous.
  • NOTE: This course can be completed synchronously, asynchronously, or any combination! All materials will be available for asynchronous access.

 

Readings (these books plus additional articles):

  • Adria Imada, An Archive of Skin, An Archive of Kin: Disability and Life-Making during Medical Incarceration (University of California Press, 2022)
  • Antonia Hylton, Madness: Race and Insanity in a Jim Crow Asylum (Legacy Lit, 2024)
    • No digital text copy yet available. Audio version on Audible, Libby.

 

Getting started:

 

Course description:

This course seeks “to bring disability from the margins to the center of historical inquiry” (Baynton 2001), exploring topics and themes in the histories of disabled people in relation to race, place, and kinship in the 19th and 20th centuries. Our learning together will include reading two new books that center Black and Indigenous communities through studies of oral history, visual representation, and lived experiences of medical incarceration. We will evaluate types of sources, research and dissemination methods, and ethical stances that disability historians utilize as they approach questions about accountability, accessibility, and the cultural meanings of disability. At the intersections of racism, colonialism, and ableism, scholars and activists also uncover stories of resistance, desire, agency, and interdependence. These texts will deepen our understanding of disability and ableism in particular locations in the past and how these may shape the present.

This course fulfills Subfield B Historical & Global for the Disability Studies Major and Minor, and fulfills a Disability Studies Graduate Certificate elective.

 

Assignments [details on the page links below]:

  • 30% Class Activities (synchronous and asynchronous participation - will be graded weekly)
  • 10% Class note taker
  • 30% Facilitating Discussion
    • Do 2 days assigned by instructor; this is an individual assignment or you may work in pairs
    • Hand in: discussion questions, reading notes, and annotations
    • Help facilitate discussion synchronously in class or asynchronously
  • 30% Themes and Methods Jigsaw
      • Do 2 in-class or recorded presentations based on the provided selection of texts, along with sections from the two books
      • Create 6 slides that summarize and analyze the texts focused on themes and methods of disability history, following the guiding questions that will be provided
      • Present in jigsaw discussion to a small group of peers
  • Note for students enrolled in DIS ST/HSTCMP 502. This class is taught jointly as DIS ST/HSTCMP 402/502. Graduate students will have an additional requirement to either: 1. prepare both of the Presentations at greater length to include in each two relevant sources that you research along with the assigned texts, or 2. write a final paper (4-5 pages) on a topic covered in the course. This assignment can be negotiated with the instructor.

 

Learning objectives:

  • Understand the history of disability and disability rights and justice activism in the United States in connection with other social categories and movements.
  • Gain a theoretical background in the field of disability studies (DS), and apply the concept of the social construction of disability to knowledge and methods in disability history.
  • Investigate how normalcy is constituted through gender, sexuality, race, class, and disability.
  • Develop skills in communicating complex ideas related to disability, diversity, and intersectionality.
  • Demonstrate knowledge of emerging issues, debates, and scholarship in disability history, disability studies, and disability justice.
  • Learning objectives for the Disability Studies Program

 

I created a survey in which you're asked to share with me your feedback about the course delivery plan, and how you anticipate you will participate in the course. You can fill it out anonymously or give your name. You may also provide any information about your circumstances or access needs that you're comfortable telling me, including any trigger or content warnings that would support your access to the materials. You're also always encouraged to speak with me about what you may need, including accommodations or adaptations. Student survey link 

 

Access, disability and religious accommodations, and resources:

Accessibility and Disability Accommodations

The instructor is trying to create an inclusive learning environment. Your experiences in the class are important to all of us. If you anticipate or encounter barriers participating or demonstrating your learning because of any aspect of how the course is taught, I encourage you to contact me as soon as possible so that we can discuss options.

We can work in conjunction with Disability Resources for Students: Disability Resources for Students (UW Seattle) Email: uwdrs@uw.edu Phone: 206-543-8924. If you have already established accommodations with DRS, please communicate your approved accommodations to me at your earliest convenience so we can discuss your needs in this course. DRS offers resources and coordinates reasonable accommodations for students with disabilities and/or temporary health conditions.  Reasonable accommodations are established through an interactive process between you, your instructor(s) and DRS.  It is the policy and practice of the University of Washington to create inclusive and accessible learning environments consistent with federal and state law.

Note that while this is directly applicable to students who are registered with DRS, you do not need to disclose a disability or provide an accommodations letter to discuss accessibility. Please feel free to talk with me about any aspect of accommodations or accessibility.

Religious Accommodations Policy

Washington state law requires that UW develop a policy for accommodation of student absences or significant hardship due to reasons of faith or conscience, or for organized religious activities. The UW’s policy, including more information about how to request an accommodation, is available at Religious Accommodations Policy. Accommodations must be requested within the first two weeks of this course using the Religious Accommodations Request. If you are unable to fill out the request but will need an accommodation, please speak with me as stated above.

Student Support Services:

Mental Health Services to Students:

Writing Resources:

Course Summary:

Date Details Due