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Disability Studies is growing at UCB. Listed here are courses that focus primarily on disability studies as
well as courses that integrate disability studies into a broader framework.
Courses offered FALL 2005:
Course: ANTHROPOLOGY 189 P 001 LEC
Course Title: Special Topics in Social/Cultural
Anthropology: "Anthropology
and Disability"
Location: TuTh 2-330P, 115 KROEBER
Instructor: KASNITZ, D & R SHUTTLEWORTH
Anthropology is underrepresented in the development of interdisciplinary disability studies. Medical anthropology has traditionally chosen to focus its primary analytic lens on the meaning of illness
and its amelioration, minimally
addressing variations in cross-cultural concepts of impairment, disability, and accommodation. This is changing. Anthropology is
beginning to use theoretically grounded and consistent definitions of these phenomena.
This course will supply an overview and will demonstrate the important contributions to be gained from a mutual engagement between anthropology and disability studies. We will present
the anthropology of disability by
engaging multiple perspectives on the sociocultural construction of disability and impairment. The international disablement experience brings up important issues at the interface of identity,
society, and culture. These issues
are not always necessarily tied to the narratives of cause
and cure with which medical anthropologists are familiar, but in some cultural contexts can clearly be viewed as social exclusions and their impact. The distinction between disability meanings and illness
meanings and their sometimes
intersection and interaction requires theoretical elaboration
and this course will address this distinction as well as engage other unique perspectives in discourse on anthropology and disability.
Requirements
This class is designed for upper-division undergraduates and graduate students with some background in anthropology and in disability studies. It will be a lecture/discussion class with
a significant amount of reading.
Active class participation is expected. Grading will be on the basis of class participation, reaction papers, a midterm exam, and a final research paper.
ENGLISH 180A P 001 LEC
Course Title: Autobiography (Disability Memoir)
Location: MWF 12-1P, 130 WHEELER Instructor:KLEEGE, G
Course: ENGLISH 24 P 001 SEM
Course Title: Freshman Seminars
Location: Tu 10-11A, 121 WHEELER
Instructor: SCHWEIK, S M
Note: "Children, Families and Disability"
Also: O TOOLE, C J; ; TB
Course: UNDERGRAD INTERDISCIPLINARY STUDIES 110 P 001 LEC (course website)
Course Title: Introduction
to Disability Studies (catalog description)
Location: W 4-7P, 2326 Tolman Hall
Instructor:
SAXTON, M
Art 160/section 2 - CCN 05011 (undergraduate); Art 298 (graduate)
AUTISM, CULTURE, AND DESIGN: AN INTERDISCIPLINARY
DESIGN EXPLORATION
T, Th: 4-6, 120 Kroeber
Instructor: GILLETTE, D
Autism is a developmental disability that affects communication and
social
interaction. Individuals with autism often experience a heightened
sensory sensitivity that can lead to difficulties in
perception and motor
ability.
The severity and symptoms of autism vary widely from one individual to
another.
While a common disorder, believed to affect 1 in 166 people,
autism is not well understood and there is little being done
in the design
world to produce tools and products for those affected by autism. Because of the difficulties presented
by autism, access can be quite limited to education, work, and social interaction for individuals with moderate to severe
autism.
By exploring how and why such access can become diminished, a better
understanding of culture at large emerges, as well
as possible paths
for resolving issues of social access.
This course will provide students
with the opportunity to explore the concepts of culture and autism
through
the lens of design, with students developing products and experiences for
those with autism as the point of
entry into the cultures being explored.
In this course, students will work in teams to design products or
experiences
for local cultures that include individuals with autism,
and in so doing, will examine the themes of disability, identity,
cultural membership, consumerism, communication, economics, education, and tool use.
Field sites will
vary, but are likely to include home, school, and work environments. Skills will be developed for understanding the diverse
desires and needs of individuals and the cultures to which they belong;
creating prototypes that attempt to address those
wants and needs; and testing those prototypes in the field. Possible projects include games, educational materials,
furniture, interactive media, art, experiences, and assistive technologies. Methods and subject matter will be drawn from
diverse fields,such as design, anthropology, the arts, psychology, engineering, and education. Technical skills are not a
requirement, but an open mind is.
Class size will be limited to 20 students.
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