| CODE | DBS2202 | ||||||||||||
| TITLE | From Dependence to Autonomy: Empowerment in Everyday Life | ||||||||||||
| UM LEVEL | 02 - Years 2, 3 in Modular Undergraduate Course | ||||||||||||
| MQF LEVEL | 5 | ||||||||||||
| ECTS CREDITS | 4 | ||||||||||||
| DEPARTMENT | Disability Studies | ||||||||||||
| DESCRIPTION | This study-unit will introduce students to the concepts of empowerment, autonomy and independence and their historical and current importance to the struggle of the disabled people's movement (DPM) nationally and internationally. It will provide a definition of these concepts. The concepts of dependence and autonomy will first be explored from the philosophical, psychological and sociological perspectives. They will then be treated from the perspectives of disabled people versus those of e.g. health and social care professionals. The importance of self-determination in raising the quality of life of both disabled people and their families/carers will be highlighted and the different strategies that disabled people use to achieve this self-determination, including self-advocacy, peer support and the use of different sources of support, including human support, non-human support and strategies or techniques that a disabled person can access in order to empower oneself. The study-unit will then focus on how these different strategies and types of support can be applied by a disabled person to devise their own life plan and carry out daily living activities, such as personal, instrumental and community activities. This will help students translate these important concepts into daily reality. Study-Unit Aims: - To introduce students to the concepts of empowerment, autonomy and independence and their importance in disabled people's lives. - To familiarise students with the various different strategies that disabled persons use to acquire independence and autonomy in their life. - To explore with students the various support systems that are available for disabled people that enable them to access opportunities for self-determination in their daily lives. Learning Outcomes: 1. Knowledge & Understanding: By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: - Discuss and debate in class groupwork the concept of empowerment versus other tools that are available to disabled people that enable them to fight against discrimination. - Present examples of situations from his/her own daily life, in which he/she would have shown their self-determination (or otherwise), through the writing of a self-reflective diary, as a final assessment for this study-unit. 2. Skills: By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: - Analyse case studies and stories presented in class that depict disabled people in their daily life activities and identify the situations in which they could assert (or otherwise) their right to self-determination. - Identify and examine the various ways in which a person (disabled and non-disabled) can exercise his/her right to independence and autonomy in his/her daily life activities through the keeping of a reflective diary that will be the students' final assessment project for this study-unit. Main Text/s and any supplementary readings: - Barnes, C. & Mercer, G. (2006). Independent Futures. Bristol: The Policy Press. - French, S. & Swain, J. (2008). What is Empowerment? In Understanding Disability : A Guide for Health Professionals. Edinburgh:Elsevier. Chapter 8, pp.137-153. - Hahn, H. (2001). Adjudication or empowerment : contrasting experiences with a social model of disability. In Barton, L. (Ed.) Disability, Politics and the Struggle for Change. London: David Fulton Publishers. Chapter 6, pp. 59-78, Available from KNPD Wenzu Dalli Resource Centre. - Hahn, H.(2002). Academic Debates and Political Advocacy : The US Disability Movement. In Barnes, C., Oliver, M. & Barton, L. (Eds). Disability Studies Today. Cambridge:Polity. pp. 181-187.Available from KNPD Wenzu Dalli Resource Centre. - Oliver, M. & Barnes, C. (2012). The New Politics of Disablement. Basingstoke:Palgrave Macmillan. |
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| STUDY-UNIT TYPE | Lecture & Independent Online Learning | ||||||||||||
| METHOD OF ASSESSMENT |
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| LECTURER/S | Maria Victoria Gauci |
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The University makes every effort to ensure that the published Courses Plans, Programmes of Study and Study-Unit information are complete and up-to-date at the time of publication. The University reserves the right to make changes in case errors are detected after publication.
The availability of optional units may be subject to timetabling constraints. Units not attracting a sufficient number of registrations may be withdrawn without notice. It should be noted that all the information in the description above applies to study-units available during the academic year 2023/4. It may be subject to change in subsequent years. |
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