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Disability Studies
Disability Studies
- DST 500 - A History of MadnessCourse DescriptionWhere do diverse concepts of "madness" come from? How have these ideas changed over time? How have "mad people" interpreted their own experiences? This course will be in the tradition of social history from "below". It will survey the social medical, political, economic, cultural and religious factors that have influenced interpretations of what it means to be "mad" from ancient time to the present.Weekly Contact:Lecture 3 hrs.GPA Weight:1.00Billing Units:1Count:1.00Liberal Studies:ULAntirequisites:DST 504
- DST 501 - Rethinking DisabilityCourse DescriptionThis foundation course introduces the core ideas students will explore throughout their studies. It immerses students in a highly participatory and provocative encounter with history, social theory, politics, policy, art and culture seen through a disability lens. Course content is designed to reflect the experience of people with disabilities, highlighting the social roots and impact of discrimination, exclusion and marginalization as well as responses of resistance.Weekly Contact:Lecture 3 hrs.GPA Weight:1.00Billing Units:1Count:1.00
- DST 502 - Disability and the StateCourse DescriptionThis course begins with students' day-to-day experience of "policy", moving towards deeper examination of the underlying values, interests and institutions that shape social and disability policy. Students are guided to make comparisons and connections, looking at historical responses to disability and at contemporary programs and services. Readings and online presentations explore what policy means, why it matters, and what processes and strategies are activated by people with disabilities to influence, shape and reform social policy.Weekly Contact:Lecture 3 hrs.GPA Weight:1.00Billing Units:1Count:1.00
- DST 503 - Current Topics in Disability ICourse DescriptionThis course will provide students with an opportunity to engage in an in-depth examination of specialized and scholarly work within the disability studies field. Content will be chosen by the Instructor based on recent research and trends in the field.Weekly Contact:Lecture 3 hrs.GPA Weight:1.00Billing Units:1Count:1.00
- DST 504 - Mad People's HistoryCourse DescriptionThis course will provide an overview of the history of madness from the point of view of people who were, and are, deemed "mad". The purpose of this course is to place the diverse perspectives of people diagnosed as mad, insane or mentally ill as being of central importance in the history of psychiatry, and to address the question: how madness has been viewed by mad people over the centuries.Weekly Contact:Lecture 3 hrs.GPA Weight:1.00Billing Units:1Count:1.00Antirequisites:DST 500
- DST 506 - Principles and Practices of AccessibilityCourse DescriptionThe Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA) mandates development of enforceable accessibility standards for businesses and organizations to identify, remove and prevent barriers to accessibility. This course is for those seeking specialized knowledge of the AODA, accessibility issues and implementation. It covers understandings of disability, issues giving rise to the Act, disability activism and a critical analysis of the new accessibility standards for customer service, built environments, employment, information and communications and transportation.Weekly Contact:Lecture 3 hrs.GPA Weight:1.00Billing Units:1Count:1.00
- DST 507 - Disability, Justice and Good Human LifeCourse DescriptionDisabled people's lives are shaped by powerful ideologies rooted in moral and political philosophy. Moving beyond medicalized evaluations, this course critically applies conceptions of justice, ethics, morality to issues such as disability discrimination, right-to-die, choice, autonomy, and assisted suicide. In these and other complex debates is the root question: "Do we own our own bodies?"Weekly Contact:Lecture 3 hrs.GPA Weight:1.00Billing Units:1Count:1.00Antirequisites:PHL 507
- DST 508 - Cripping the Arts in CanadaCourse DescriptionThis course will explore disability arts in Canada. We examine how disability arts has contributed to and challenged the disability rights and other social movements. We position disability arts in a Canadian context and interrogate its emergence historically. We explore contemporary issues and debates within disability arts, such as the role that it continues to play in the disability rights movement, whether disability arts can be produced by non-disabled people, and emerging disability arts aesthetics.Weekly Contact:Lecture 3 hrs.GPA Weight:1.00Billing Units:1Count:1.00Liberal Studies:ULAntirequisites:DST 509
- DST 509 - Crip Culture in CanadaCourse DescriptionExploring disability arts, this course will think through how the inclusion of disability arts "crips" or productively disrupts, arts and culture in Canada. We will explore how disability arts contributes to the disability rights and justice movements as well as the many ways this sector is changing the way we fund the arts, create and experience art, and how disability arts and curatorial practices are giving rise to a new standard of artistic excellence.Weekly Contact:Lecture 3 hrs.GPA Weight:1.00Billing Units:1Count:1.00Antirequisites:DST 508
- DST 525 - Disability, Representation/s and CultureCourse DescriptionThis course critically examines representations of embodied difference in mainstream and other media. With particular attention to disability, it queries images from the news, on television, film and the web as they are embedded in the systems of ableist power, privilege and marginalization. To study these images is to reveal their ideological underpinnings, and their intrinsic connection to other categories of identity including class, race, gender, and sexual orientation.Weekly Contact:Lecture 3 hrs.GPA Weight:1.00Billing Units:1Count:1.00
- DST 603 - Disability and The LawCourse DescriptionThis course is constructed around 'fact' situations, illustrative of real-life dilemmas faced by disabled people, their families, advocates and service providers. How to find and use the law will be explored as will the often competing issues of independence, dignity, personal and economic security. Students will analyze when the law may help or hinder, and how it may be changed.Weekly Contact:Lecture 3 hrs.GPA Weight:1.00Billing Units:1Count:1.00
- DST 604 - Current Topics in Disability IICourse DescriptionThis course will provide students with a further opportunity to engage in an in-depth examination of specialized and scholarly work within the disability studies field. Content will be chosen by the Instructor based on recent research and trends in the field.Weekly Contact:Lecture 3 hrs.GPA Weight:1.00Billing Units:1Count:1.00
- DST 613 - Strategies for Community BuildingCourse DescriptionThis course addresses the importance of community building given the realities of social exclusion and the challenges represented by diversity in the current social, political and economic context in Canada. The starting point is the particular view of reality held by people with disabilities. Students are encouraged to analyze power, inequality and influence before building strategies for action, and to develop a personal ethical stance in which to ground community development practice.Weekly Contact:Lecture 3 hrs.GPA Weight:1.00Billing Units:1Count:1.00
- DST 614 - Community, Access and TechnologyCourse DescriptionStudents are introduced to assistive technologies, their impact on people with disabilities, models of use, public policy and legislation (local, federal, international). In addition to online readings and exploratory assignments, students participate in online discussion forums and live weekly e-chats with leaders in the assistive technology field. The final project offers students an opportunity to explore a technology of interest in the context of addressing an unmet need or burning issue in their community.Weekly Contact:Lecture 3 hrs.GPA Weight:1.00Billing Units:1Count:1.00
- DST 725 - The Politics and Practice of InterventionsCourse DescriptionIn recent years, interventions directed at disabled people have been the subject of debate, controversy and resistance. This course explores these tensions by tracing various approaches to creating change in the lives of disabled people. Students will use sociological analysis, theories of disability/difference, autobiographical knowledge and consultation to critique examples of contemporary interventions and to explore potentially more positive alternatives.Weekly Contact:Lecture 3 hrs.GPA Weight:1.00Billing Units:1Count:1.00
- DST 727 - Leadership Practices for Changing TimesCourse DescriptionThis course looks at leadership theory and the challenges of leading in neo-liberal times. It touches on political discourse, public policy and the legislative process. It examines the problem of working across differences and complicates empowerment. Students will meet and talk with leaders from social movements. By the time students complete their assignments, they should be able to imagine themselves as leaders and be better able to assist disabled people in becoming leaders.Weekly Contact:Lecture 3 hrs.GPA Weight:1.00Billing Units:1Count:1.00Antirequisites:DST 726
- DST 80A/B - Practicum in Disability StudiesCourse Description
Only students who do not have the equivalent of two years of full-time related work/advocacy experience will be required to take this course. Students accepted into the program without this requirement may apply to be exempt from DST 80A/B if, during their course of studies, they have acquired sufficient work/advocacy experience. This experience will involve work in a community placement involving advocacy, support or community development with citizens with disabilities.
Weekly Contact:Lab 21 hrs./21 hrs.GPA Weight:2.00Billing Units:3/3Count:2.00Prerequisites:DST 501 - DST 88A/B - Research MethodsCourse Description
This course will provide students with a basic understanding of social research and its relevance to disability studies. Students will acquire the knowledge and skills required to plan, conduct and critically analyse research. A range of qualitative and quantitative methods will be explored along with their use in transforming perceptions of disability. Issues of social location and the meaningful participation of people with disabilities in research are discussed.
Weekly Contact:Lecture 3 hrs./3 hrs.GPA Weight:2.00Billing Units:1/1Count:2.00Prerequisites:DST 501 - DST 99A/B - Applied Community Project/ThesisCourse Description
This is the "capstone" course of the Disability Studies program. It provides students with the opportunity to engage in focussed scholarly and project work from a disability studies perspective. It must be taken after all other courses. The course will be individually structured for each student in collaboration with a faculty advisor. The orienting question will revolve around how social environments and structures shape the experience of people with disabilities.
Weekly Contact:Lecture 3 hrs./3 hrs.GPA Weight:4.00Billing Units:1/1Count:2.00Prerequisites:DST 501
