Media Representation of Disability in the US

In this seminar-style, project-based course, we will critically engage with a wide array of representations of disability, including advertisements, news, political cartoons, fundraising telethons, social media, and art created by disabled people. We will ask: what stereotypes and cultural beliefs shape these representations? To create our frameworks and extend our thinking, we will engage with films, blogs, and scholarly and activist writing. Because disability representations never exist in a vacuum, we also will pay close attention to issues of power and privilege and to the connections between disability, race, gender, class, and sexuality.