Starting from the premise that disability is a social phenomenon, rather than an individual and medical one, this course asks: How do media and technology shape disability? And how might disability activism and disability studies inform better design? We will consider the significance of technology to the definition and experience of disability in a cross-cultural perspective. Topics include: universal and critical design; the contested category of “assistive technology”; visual rhetorics of disability in photography and film; staring and other practices of looking; disability aesthetics; biomedicine/biotech and the establishment of norms. Drawing on disability arts and activism, we will also practice techniques for media accessibility such as captioning, alt text, plain language, and video description. Note: Pending feasible travel conditions we will hold lessons on disability aesthetics and museum access at Louvre Abu Dhabi among other art spaces. We will also partner with Mawaheb Art Studio for People of Determination to help them make their exhibition for the Quoz Arts Festival accessible. Following the disability activist principle “nothing about us without us,” we will host guest lecturers with a wide range of disability expertise.

Core: Structures of Thought & Society (Undergraduate)
4 credits – 2 Weeks