Disability Studies (DST)

DST 102. Beginning ASL II. (4)

The Beginning II course is a continuation of the Beginning ASL I course. This course will continue to introduce conversationally relevant signs, grammatical principles, and background information related to the Deaf culture with the objective of teaching students to sign and understand ASL with an increasing ability at the ACTFL proficiency intermediate low-mid level (Swender, Conrad, & Vicars, 2012). Swender, E., Conrad, D. J., & Vicars, R. (2012). ACTFL proficiency guidelines 2012. ACTFL, INC.
Prerequisite: DST/SPA 101 or SPA 248.
Cross-listed with SPA 102.

DST 169. Disability and Literature. (3)

This course studies the construction of disability identity in literature, personal memoir, and popular culture by investigating how texts that feature disability question notions of "normalcy" and "deviancy." It emphasizes interdisciplinary understandings of disability in historical and contemporary frameworks. IC, IIB. PA-3B, PA-4B. CAS-B-LIT.
Cross-listed with ENG 169.

DST 177. Independent Studies. (0-6; maximum 10)

DST 272. Introduction to Disability Studies. (3)

Explores the link between the social construction of disability and that of race, class, gender, ethnicity, and sexual orientation as they pertain to social justice in a multicultural and democratic society. Promotes critical analysis of dominant and nondominant perspectives on disability. IC, IIC. PA-2A, PA-4B. CAS-C.
Cross-listed with EDP/SOC.

DST 277. Independent Studies. (0-6; maximum 10)

DST 278. Women and (Dis)ability: Fictions and Contaminations of Identity. (3)

Provides a critical analysis of the historical, sociological, cultural, media and educational images and representations of women with disabilities. Current research and theories from Disabilities Studies and Womens Studies will serve as the lenses for the exploration of disability as a social construct. The course will focus on exploration of oppressive social forces embedded in the re/presentations of and by women with disabilities which transform and complicate such images.
Cross-listed with EDP/WGS.

DST 312. American Deaf Cultures. (3)

This course will provide an introduction to the American Deaf community. Students will be introduced to the medical and cultural models of deafness, and the differences that result from these two perspectives in terms of identity, language, behavior, values, education, and/or intervention. IC, IIC, IIIB. PA-4A, SI-02.
Cross-listed with SPA 312.

DST 315. Disability History in America. (3)

An introduction to the history of disabilities in America, providing an overview of major themes, events, individuals, policy developments and political and social activism of, by, and for people with disabilities, as well as an introduction to the historical subfield of history of disabilities. IIB, IC. PA-4A.
Cross-listed with EDL 315.

DST 375. (Dis)Ability Allies: To be or not to be? Developing Identity and Pride from Practice. (3)

Explores what it means to be ally to/in/with the disability community in America. The course emphasizes identity formation and how that formation can inform the construction of the ally identity. Through deconstructing learned values, knowledge, and images of disability that mitigate ally behavior, students discover the micro and macro structures that support ally behavior. By exploring how social control and social change have worked in other civil rights movements, students understand the necessity of identifying and including allies in the disability movement for civil rights. IC. PA-4B. CAS-C.
Cross-listed with EDP 375 and SOC 375.

DST 377. Independent Studies. (0-6; maximum 10)

DST 378. Media Illusions: Creations of "The Disabled" Identity. (3)

Provides a critical analysis of past and present media constructions of persons with disabilities. Through exploring theory and research from diverse disciplines (communication, sociology, gerontology, educational psychology and others), students explore how perceptions of persons with disability are formed and analyze how the media is implicated in creating, distorting, and reflecting stereotypical and fictionalized images of disability. The course analyzes how these images shape public perception and reproduce the unequal power and privilege relationships that maintain the status quo while providing resources and techniques for the provision of alternative images of disability in various media genres.
Cross-listed with EDP.

DST 470. Social/Political Activism. (3)

Provides students with the opportunity to explore how indigenous groups effect change in their communities.
Prerequisite: SOC 151 or SOC 153, or SOC/SJS 165, or CRE 151.
Cross-listed with CRE/SJS/SOC.

DST 477. Independent Studies. (0-6; maximum 10)

DST 494. Disability in Global and Local Contexts. (3)

Examines contemporary disability issues and policies and the lived experiences of persons with disabilities in international and local contexts, with emphasis on understanding disability within particular communities-both locally and in other countries-and on learning multiple research methods. SC.
Prerequisite: permission of instructor.