Disability History of the United States

DIS ST/HSTCMP 402 & 502 A, Topics in Disability History

Winter 2024

Hybrid Instruction in ARC 160 & on Zoom:  https://washington.zoom.us/j/95984820397

Tuesdays (Zoom only) & Thursdays (ARC 160 & Zoom), 1:30-3:20pm

Instructor: Joanne Woiak, jwoiak@uw.edu 

Office hours: after class on Tuesdays at class zoom link, and by appointment

Welcome to the course!

Welcome to my disability studies class on disability history of the United States, with a focus on the intersections of race and disability. The course is designed to provide flexibility in how you access the content and how you show your engagement with the material. I’m looking forward to teaching and learning with you this quarter. 

Announcements:

• Course evaluation will be open 3/7 to 3/14 - thank you for taking time to offer your feedback!
• Final Essay/project:
  • Let me know if you have any specific questions for me about your work so far, after you did your peer workshops. I will do my best to provide a bit of written feedback to each of you over the next few days.
  • If you haven't yet submitted a draft, be in touch with me about your timeframe.
  • Due March 10: Peer Reviews Written by Students participating Asynchronously
  • Due March 14 Completed Essay/Project
• Other assignments:
  • Please check to make sure I've graded all your work (aside from RR3, I haven't had a chance to do those yet).
  • Remember to finish all the components of the Interdependence assignment.
• My preferred final day to receive any outstanding assignments is Thurs March 14th. Please be in touch if you have any questions or concerns.

Good luck on all your exams, final papers, etc! I've enjoyed learning with you so much this quarter!

Note Takers schedule:

Week 3: Jess, Grace C, Nila Olivia

Week 4: Payton, Lekha, Kathy

Week 5: Elena-Genevieve, Maggie, Jenny, Maks, Ruby

Week 6: Grace L, Naomi, Vivian, Grace M

Week 7: Logan S, Nicole, Hailey, Sierra

Week 8: Hannah, Astro, Jax, Logan W

Week 9: Marissa, Elle, Sklyer

Facilitation Groups:

Jan 23: Payton, Naomi, Sofia, Logan S, Aryana

Jan 25: Elle, Grace C, Maggie, Elena-Genevieve, Vivian

Feb 6: Olivia, Sierra, Hailey, Isaac, Nila

Feb 8: Lexi, Jax, Jenny, Mason, Lekha

Feb 13: Maks, Jess, Ava

Feb 15: Nicole, Grace L, Skyler, Kathy

Feb 22: Ruby, Astro, Marissa, Alejandra

Feb 27: Grace M, Logan W, Hannah, Elisabeth, Audrey

Instructor & Getting Started

Instructor: Joanne Woiak (she/her). I am faculty in the Disability Studies Program.

• Email: jwoiak@uw.edu
• Office hours: Tuesdays 3:20-4:00pm on Zoom at the class meeting link. And by appointment on Zoom or in my office Smith 019

To get started in the course, click on "Welcome"

• Welcome
• Syllabus (Word doc)
• Assignments (Word doc)
• Schedule of Topics & Readings
• Policies & Grading & Resources
• Student survey (google form link) about your plans or concerns for hybrid learning and any access needs in this course. You may use this for anonymous feedback at any time during the quarter as well.
• Please always check the Modules and daily Home Pages for all information and updates about content warnings, assignments, lectures, films, readings, and announcements.

Course delivery:

Methods of instruction will encompass class discussions, lectures, podcasts, webinars, and films. The course content will be offered in a variety of modalities in order to provide as much flexibility and accessibility as possible. Class meetings will be recorded. It is preferred that students participate synchronously on a regular basis, including for student facilitation of discussion. An asynchronous participation option will be available for anyone who sometimes needs that or via arrangements with the instructor. This course will be largely discussion based. My goal is to support you in engaging with the course material while navigating hybrid learning. The plan for class meetings is:

• Tuesdays: Class meets on Zoom only, 1:30-3:20pm.
• Thursdays: Class meets hybrid in-person in ARC 160 and on Zoom, 1:30-3:20pm. Students may attend in either modality.

Course description: “Disability History of the United States”

“It is time to bring disability from the margins to the center of historical inquiry” (Baynton 2001). This course seeks to engage with topics and themes in the histories of disability in the United States from the 19^th to the 21^st centuries, with a focus on the intersections of race and disability. We will consider how historical analysis can more fully encompass the lives of disabled people, as well as the ways that the concept of disability has worked with—and against—other forms of discrimination and social justice movements in American society. Learning goals are to deepen our understanding of disability and ableism in the past and how these may shape the present. How does disability as a category of analysis inform other social constructions such as race, ethnicity, class, and gender? Course topics will also focus on the relations between disability rights activism and civil rights activism, narratives of disability and incarceration, policies and practices of eugenics and immigration restriction, Blackness and disability in the contexts of enslavement, freak shows, and Jim Crow, disability in citizenship debates, d/Deaf histories, and disability and labor. Readings are grouped thematically and explore experiences and interpretations of oppression and agency, incorporating scholarship on the cutting edge of examining complex entanglements of racism and ableism in American history.

Assignments:

• 15% Participation
• 10% Interdependence (note taking & annotating)
• 30% Reading Responses (write 3 papers) - detailed guidelines for each are published in each assignment. The assignments are all different - read carefully!
  • Reading Response 1
  • Reading Response 2
  • Reading Response 3
• 15% Facilitating Discussion (small group assignment)
• 30% Essay/Project - guidelines published
  • 10% Pre-writing and peer workshop
  • 20% Final essay/project
• Students enrolled in DIS ST/HSTCMP 502: This class is taught jointly as DIS ST/HSTCMP 402/502. Graduate students will have an additional assignment preparing a short presentation on one reading for one day followed by their leadership of the discussion. Grad students will write a final term paper that takes a deeper dive into one or two of the topics and/or theories covered in the course. This assignment can be negotiated with the instructor; it could be a literature review, original research into historical primary sources, a draft article for your primary field of study, or another format.

Readings:

It’s expected that you do the required reading before class begins and be prepared to discuss your ideas, queries, and opinions. Consult the modules regularly for readings, film & podcast links, lectures, supplementary texts, and updates to the assignments.

All of the required readings are on the course website as PDFs or external links. You can find them in Files and in the Modules.

Learning objectives:

• Understand the history of disability and activism in the United States in connection with other social categories and movements.
• Gain or deepen a theoretical background in the field of disability studies (DS), and apply the concept of the social construction of disability to knowledge and methods in disability history.
• Investigate how normalcy is constituted through gender, sexuality, race, class, and disability.
• Develop skills in communicating complex ideas related to disability, diversity, and intersectionality.
• Demonstrate knowledge of emerging issues, debates, and scholarship in disability history, disability studies, and disability justice.
• Disability Studies Program Learning Goals: https://disabilitystudies.washington.edu/skills-knowledge-careers

Grading scale

Accommodations, access, and resources:

            Please read the Disability Studies Program statement on Covid precautions: https://disabilitystudies.washington.edu/news/2022-03/dsp-statement-covid-spring-quarter

            Please do not wear scented products in our classroom or the instructor’s office, to make these spaces more accessible for people with chemical sensitivity.

            The instructor is trying to create an inclusive learning environment. Your experiences in the class are important to all of us. If you anticipate or encounter barriers participating or demonstrating your learning because of any aspect of how the course is taught, I encourage you to contact me as soon as possible so that we can discuss options.

            We can work in conjunction with Disability Resources for Students: Disability Resources for Students (UW Seattle) Email: uwdrs@uw.edu Phone: 206-543-8924. If you have already established accommodations with DRS, please communicate your approved accommodations to me at your earliest convenience so we can discuss your needs in this course. DRS offers resources and coordinates reasonable accommodations for students with disabilities and/or temporary health conditions.  Reasonable accommodations are established through an interactive process between you, your instructor(s) and DRS. 

            Note that while this is directly applicable to students who are registered with DRS, you do not need to disclose a disability or provide an accommodations letter to discuss accessibility. Please feel free to talk with me about any aspect of accommodations or accessibility.

Religious Accommodations Policy

Washington state law requires that UW develop a policy for accommodation of student absences or significant hardship due to reasons of faith or conscience, or for organized religious activities. The UW’s policy, including more information about how to request an accommodation, is available at Religious Accommodations Policy. Accommodations must be requested within the first two weeks of this course using the Religious Accommodations Request.

Mental Health Services to Students:

• Here is the main UW website with many on-campus and off-campus resources: https://wellbeing.uw.edu/topic/mental-health
• View more Student Support Services on this Canvas pageand on the University Services and Support Page Link

Writing Resources:

• POL S/LSJ/JSIS Writing Center: http://depts.washington.edu/pswrite/
• Odegaard writing & research center: http://depts.washington.edu/owrc/
• CLUE writing center: http://depts.washington.edu/clue/dropintutor_writing.php

• CHID (Interdisciplinary Writing Studio) https://chid.washington.edu/writing-center