Critical Disability Studies

Introduction

The Critical Disability Studies program engages students in an examination of disability as a social and cultural construct and lived experience. This interdisciplinary field of study draws together a wide range of disciplines, including the humanities, social sciences, political science, law, computer science, education, and many others. Critical Disability Studies offers students an understanding of disability in the context of intersectional social justice movements and helps students to develop a critical awareness of such concepts as normalcy, ableism, productivity, and human value as they operate in their lives and in their local and global communities. Students will explore such topics as representations of disability in art and culture, universal design in physical and digital environments, the political and legal aspects of disability, and the values and histories of disability communities.

Mission

The Critical Disability Studies program builds a community that is focused on the academic study of disability as a social and cultural construct and lived experience. Working with faculty across the disciplines, students will come to understand disability as a central aspect of the human experience and a socially just world.

Faculty

KATHLEEN BRIAN, PhD, Senior Instructor of Global Humanities and Religions, and Honors College
ELIZABETH BOLAND, PhD and CRC, Professor of Health and Community Studies
KRISTEN CHMIELEWSKI, PhD, Assistant Professor of Recreation Management and Leadership
YASMINE ELGLAY, PhD, Assistant Professor of Computer Science
ALLISON GIFFEN, PhD, Professor of English
PAM KUNTZ, MFA, Senior Instructor of Dance
CECI LOPEZ, JD and LLM, Assistant Professor of Law, Fairhaven
ANDREW LUCCHESI, PhD, Associate Professor of English
G MCGREW, PhD, Senior Instructor of Science and Engineering
SCOT NICHOLS, Instructor, Fairhaven College of Interdisciplinary Studies
TARA PERRY, PhD, Professor of Communication Studies
CANDICE STYER, PhD, Instructor of Special Education, Woodring
ADRIAN J. VILLICANA, PhD, Assistant Professor of Social Psychology, Fairhaven
DAMAN WANDKE, MBA, Instructor of Education Leadership and Inclusive Teaching

Programs

Undergraduate Minor

Critical Disability Studies Minor

Courses

Critical Disability Studies

Courses numbered X37; X97; 300, 400 are described in the University Academic Policies section of this catalog.