"Nothing About Us Without Us": this slogan epitomizes the disability rights movement's demand for disabled people to control social representations of their lives and bodies. In this course, we will connect Writing Studies and Disability Studies to explore the efforts of disabled activists to gain inclusion and challenge harmful stereotypes about disability and neurodiversity. Topics and communities we will study include: physical disabilities and mobility; d/Deaf and hard-of-hearing; blindness/visual disabilities; mental disability and neurodiversity; chronic illness and chronic pain; invisible disabilities; and others. Our primary readings will span many genres, from essays and memoir to documentary film, podcasts, and social media activism. (Combined with ENGL 671)

Instructor Consent Required