This course will introduce students to theories of disability justice as they intersect with feminist and antiracist struggles. Tracing the emergence of the concept of disability alongside the rise of racial knowledge since the 19th century, we will consider how disability activists have responded to ableism by developing art, political strategies, and subcultures that promote a more just society built for a wider variety of human bodies. Students will learn about the moral, medical, social, and ecological models of disability; explore varied disability experiences relating to mental illness, chronic disease, and sensory and mobility impairments; debate ethical questions concerning eugenics, selective abortion, health care access, and medical technologies; and analyze the work of disabled artists and activists of color. Students will also discuss principles of universal design which seek to make classrooms more just and collaborative. In order to balance accessibility and community building, the course has been designed for synchronous online instruction complemented by optional in-person sessions.

Provides students with a critical introduction to the ways that art and art activism have served as a conduit to understanding and challenging systems of inequity and practices of normativity. Interrogating the categories of gender, sexuality, race, class, ability, the course will provide students with an examination of how artists have responded to pressing social justice issues of their eras. While the course centers visual art, students will also engage genres such as music, plays, literature, digital and performance art as arenas of social change.

Participation and portrayal of women in the mass media from colonial to contemporary times.