This introductory seminar explores the culture, history, and philosophy of disability primarily in the English-speaking world from the eighteenth century to the present. We will pursue questions like: how has disability influenced popular forms of literary expression and theories of social justice? How have different generations understood and represented disability? And finally, how have thinkers and artists with disabilities and their biological and chosen families spoken back to dominant views, stigmas, and prejudices across time? Along the way, we will speak with special guests from across the country, including disability rights activists, philosophers, writers, scholars, and performers, whose work and writing students will become familiar with in advance of these conversations.

Assignments include an essay comparing an early representation of disability with a contemporary one, an aesthetic manifesto, and a creative response to a text from the syllabus.