Feminist Disability Studies

Full Tuition: $300 — Scholarship Options in Drop-Down Menu

Instructor: Madden | 6 weeks | Thursdays May 4-June 8 | 6:00-8:00 PM EDT | ONLINE

Disabled people are regularly imagined out of the future. As Alison Kafer explains, the so-called "good life" and ideas about "better futures" are marked by the absence of, or at least a reduction in, disability. But in this class, we'll hold tight to what is, for some, the generative content of disability, and we'll remember that disability and illness are a fact of the human condition. At the same time, another of our guiding purposes will be to challenge ableism and the practice of, for instance, denying health care and creating unsafe working conditions.

The class begins with an introduction to the interdiscipline of feminist disability studies and then each of the remaining 5 weeks are organized around a keyword: language, work, time, citizenship, and liberation. For instance, when we study "language," we'll reflect on Sunaura Taylor's practice of thinking together disability justice and justice for non-human animals. When we study "work," we'll wrestle with Marta Russell's reading of Marxism and her argument that disability is "a product of the exploitative economic structure of capitalist society; one that creates the so-called 'disabled body' to permit a small capitalist class to create the economic conditions necessary to accumulate vast wealth." And when we study "time," we'll examine and critique a range of imagined futures that exclude disability, that construct narrow visions of "the good life," and promote limited rhetorics of self-improvement. Our course materials include a variety of productions from various genres--including theory texts, accounts of personal experience, visual culture, and materials produced by activists involved in direct action strategies.

Classes are recorded to allow for students to participate asynchronously. If you want to take a class but cannot make the class time, sign up for the asynchronous audit option to follow along on your own. Recordings are password protected and will only be available for the duration of the class and two weeks after it ends.

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All tuition goes to paying instructors and staff a living wage. We encourage you to pick the payment tier that corresponds with your needs, but ask that you please consider our commitment to fair labor practices when doing so. We are currently able to offer three full scholarships per class, and one full scholarship per person per term. If the scholarship tier you need is sold out or you would like to pay tuition on an installment basis, please email us directly, and we will work with you.

If at any point up to 48 hours before your first class session you realize you will be unable to take the class, please email us and we will reallocate your funds to a future class, to another student’s scholarship, or refund it. After classes begin, we are only able to make partial refunds and adjustments.