| CODE | DBS5002 | ||||||
| TITLE | Understanding Definitions of Disability | ||||||
| UM LEVEL | 05 - Postgraduate Modular Diploma or Degree Course | ||||||
| MQF LEVEL | 7 | ||||||
| ECTS CREDITS | 10 | ||||||
| DEPARTMENT | Disability Studies | ||||||
| DESCRIPTION | The aim of this study-unit is to introduce the students to the main ideas of disability studies. This study-unit sets the students thinking on the issues of disability along a socio-political path. The first part of the study-unit introduces the students to the main models of disability including, the individual model, the medical model, the social model, the human rights model and the affirmative model. It also introduces the students to the discourses on disability studies that have evolved in the last 35 years in Malta and internationally, while at the same time questioning these discourses. The second part of the study-unit introduces the students to notions in the philosophy of disability, whereby students will be guided to critically scrutinise important concepts in disability studies, such as power, the body, vulnerability and care through the works of Michel Foucault, Judith Butler, and feminist theorists. Study-Unit Aims: The study-unit has three main aims: - The first aim is to highlight and show the shift from the medical, charity and, pity models of disability to a social construction of disability. - The second aim is to give a historical perspective of the concept of impairment and disability and how different models of disability have influenced the discourse about disability. - The third is to give a detailed description of the models of disability, including the affirmative model of disability, the relational model of disability, and the human rights model of disability, amongst others. Policies and legislation which have been influenced by these models will be discussed. - The fourth aim is use the work of Michel Foucault to understand how power functions to construct disabled bodies and identities. The aim is to analyse the power of normalisation, and the different ways in which power is exercised over bodies in societies. This will lead to a consideration of how feminist theorists (Sandra Lee Bartky, Iris Marion Young, Susan Wendell) have built on and extended Foucault’s ideas to further consider the exercise of power on the body. The implications of their work on disability studies will be explored. Probing further on the notion of the body, the work of Judith Butler will be explored to show how her account of corporeal vulnerability and precariousness can inform the field of disability studies. Learning Outcomes: 1. Knowledge & Understanding: By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: - Describe and analyse the different models of disability and their critique, keeping in mind how different countries have used such models in the last 35 years; - Demonstrate that the student is familiar with the various basic literature on disability studies; - Acquire a systematic and in-depth understanding of the definitions of disability. - Discuss the philosophical works of Michel Foucault, Judith Butler, and feminist theories, and their applications to disability studies. - Analyse critically power relations and their effect on bodies and identities. 2. Skills: By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: - Critique and analyze the general ideas behind the concept of identity formation and how this applies to people with disability and disability studies; - Evaluate and compare different historical moments which have given a voice to persons with disability; - Explore and critically reflect on issues related to the disability issues; - Sharpen the ability to think critically and 'outside the box' and to analyse current situations; - Be empowered to come forward with new insights and potential solutions to disability issues. - Demonstrate critical theoretical rigour when discussing potential solutions to disability issues. Main Text/s and any supplementary readings: Main texts on Disability and Models of Disability: - Campbell, J., and Oliver, M. (1996).Disability Politics: Understanding Our Past, Changing Our Future. London: Routledge. - Barnes, C., Barton, L., & Oliver, M. (2002). Disability Studies Today. Cambridge: Polity Press. - Swain, J., French, S., Barnes, C., & Thomas, C. (2004). Disabling Barriers - Enabling Environments (2 nd ed.) London: Sage. - Oliver, M. (1996). Understanding Disability: From Theory to Practice. New York: St. Martin’s Press. - Barnes, C., & Mercer, G. (2003). Disability (Key Concepts). London: Wiley. - Tremain, S. (Ed.). (2005). Foucault and the government of disability (2 nd ed.). Michigan: The University of Michigan Press. - Albrecht, G.L., Seelman, K.D., & Bury, M. (Eds.). (2001). Handbook of disability studies. London: Sage. - Marks, D. (1999). Disability: Controversial debates and psychosocial perspectives. London: Routledge. - Barnes, C., & Mercer, G. (2010). Exploring disability (2 nd ed.). Cambridge: Polity Press. - Goodley, D. (2011). Disability studies: An interdisciplinary approach. London: Sage. - Gustavsson, A., Sandvin, J., Traustadottir, R., & Tossebro, J. (2005). Resistance, reflection and change: Nordic disability research. Lund, Sweden: Studentlitteratur. - Mallett, R., & Runswick-Cole, K. (2014). Approaching disability: critical issues and perspectives. London: Routledge. - Swain, J., French, S., & Cameron, C. (2003). Controversial issues in a disabling society. Berkshire: Open University Press. Main texts on the Philosophy of Disability: - Sara Mills, Michel Foucault (Routledge Critical Thinkers) (London and New York: Routledge, 2003), especially chapters 2 & 4. - Sandra Lee Bartky, “Foucault, Femininity, and the Modernization of Patriarchal Power,” in Femminity and Domination: Studies in the Phenomenology of Oppression (New York: Routledge, 1990), 63-82. - Iris Marion Young, “Throwing Like a Girl: A Phenomenology of Feminine Body Comportament, Motility and Spatiality,” Human Studies Vol. 3 No. 2 (1980): 137-156. - Susan Wendell, “Towards a Feminist Theory of Disability,” Hyatia Vol. 4 No. 2 (1989): 104-124. - Judith Butler & Sunaura Taylor, “ Interdependence,” in Examined Life: Excursions with Contemporary Thinkers, ed. By Astra Taylir (New York and London: The New Press, 2009), 185-213. - Stacy Clifford Simplican, “Care, Disability, and Violence: Theorizing Complex Dependency in Eva Kittay and Judith Butler,” Hypatia Vol. 30 No. 1 (2015): 217-233. - Judith Butler, “Violence, Mourning, Politics,” Studies in Gender and Sexuality 4:1 (2013): 9-37. - Eva Feder Kittay, Love’s Labor: Essays on Women, Equality, and Dependency (New York and London: Routledge, 1999), especially chapters 6 & 7. - Catriona Mackenzie, Wendy Rogers, Susan Dodds (eds.), Vulnerability: New Essays in Ethics and Feminist Philosophy (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2014) chapters 7 & 8. - Deborah Lupton, Medicine as Culture: Illness, Disease and the Body in Western Societies 2 nd edition (London: Sage Publications, 2003), especially chapter 2. - Lennard J. Davis ed., The Disability Studies Reader 4 th edition (New York and London: Routledge, 2013). The UoM Library has a number of journals on disability studies. Students will be encouraged to search, read and critique. |
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| ADDITIONAL NOTES | Pre-requisite Qualifications: First Cycle Degree | ||||||
| STUDY-UNIT TYPE | Lecture and Independent Study | ||||||
| METHOD OF ASSESSMENT |
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| LECTURER/S | Kurt Borg Amy Joan Camilleri Zahra |
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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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