HSTCMP 402 A: Topics in Disability History

Winter 2026
View in MyPlan View in Time Schedule
Meeting:
TTh 10:30am - 12:20pm
SLN:
15658
Section Type:
Lecture
Joint Sections:
DIS ST 402 A , HSTCMP 502 A , DIS ST 502 A
TOPIC: OTHER "OTHERS" IN US DISABILITY HISTORY *** HYBRID INSTRUCTION SOME CLASSES ON ZOOM ADD CODE, CONTACT: JWOIAK@UW.EDU **** THIS COURSE IS NOT ELIGIBLE FOR REGISTRATION BY AUDITORS OR ACCESS STUDENTS.
Syllabus Description (from Canvas):

Other 'Others' in US Disability History

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

Winter 2026

Hybrid Instruction on Tuesday & Thursday, 10:30am-12:20pm:

Tuesday classes on Zoom only

Thursday classes in-person SAV 132 & on Zoom

Class meetings on Zoom Join URL: https://washington.zoom.us/j/93769435659 

Protest button that reads "Power to the Disabled People's Movement" and an image of a crutch with Black power fist.

Welcome to the course

Hello! I'm Joanne Woiak (she/her), faculty in the Disability Studies Program. Please reach out to me with any questions about the course. My email is jwoiak@uw.edu. The course will follow a hybrid format that's designed to provide flexibility in how you access the content and how you show your engagement with the material. I'm here to support you and I look forward to teaching and learning with you this quarter!

  • The first class meeting is on Tuesday Jan 6th at 10:30am on Zoom only. The materials from the meeting are posted in the Jan 6 Homepage.
  • Next class meeting is Thurs Jan 8th, 10:30am in SAV 132 and on Zoom. You may attend in either modality!

Course Overview

Getting Started

Course Delivery Plan:

  • My plan is to teach in a hybrid format, and class will meet two times per week on this schedule:
    • Tuesdays: Class meets on Zoom only, 10:30am-12:20pm
    • Thursdays: Class meets hybrid in-person in SAV 132 and on Zoom, 10:30am-12:20pm.  Students may attend in either modality on Thursdays.  Sometimes class will be on Zoom only - announced in advanced.
    • Class meetings join URL:  https://washington.zoom.us/j/93769435659 
  • All class meetings will be recorded for asynchronous access. There will be options for synchronous and asynchronous participation, and these options will be available to everyone. My intent is that this course will be largely discussion based.
  • I propose a community guideline that all of us who attend in SAV 132 wear masks if we can, foregrounding the Disability Justice principle of collective access. I also recognize that for various reasons wearing masks might create access barriers, so we will want to make space for students who need to go without wearing a mask. I will bring a box of masks to the classroom each day.
  • Here is a survey form for your feedback about the course structure and any access needs you may have.

Course Description:

Other 'Others' in US Disability History. The essay “Disability History: Why We Need Another ‘Other’” (Kudlick 2003) announced the analytic and theoretical tools of an emerging field of study with the potential to "reshape our scholarly landscape.” The field of disability studies (DS) recognizes disability as political and relational. The scope of disability history now encompasses lived experiences and concepts not typically named as disability, especially at the intersections of marginalized identities and social constructs such as race, ethnicity, class, sex, and gender. The authors we will read use historical case studies to ask: What qualifies as disability history? When DS expands beyond an identity-based framework, who else might become legible as subjects of historical inquiry, and why? What evidence, sources, and research methods are available to us, and how do we engage in these studies in ways that are accountable and accessible? 

Course learning goals are to deepen our understanding of disability and ableism in the past and how they shape the present, especially in conjunction with the history of constructs of race and racism. We will analyze recent historical scholarship that excavates unique features of Black disability politics and cultural work, that looks at immigration history through a DS lens, and that centers the roles of geographical place and community proximities in narratives about white rural nonconformity. Throughout the course, we will consider how critical disability studies aligns with, is indebted to, and potentially enhances the analyses of power developed in fields such as women of color feminism and queer theory, as we focus on groundbreaking research about communities, activist movements, policies, and methodologies for disability history in late-19th and 20th century United States contexts.

Assignments:

  • 15% Participation
  • 10% Interdependence (note taking & annotating)
  • 30% Reading Responses (write 4 papers)
  • 15% Facilitating Discussion (small group assignment)
  • 30% Essay/Project
    • 10% Draft/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 also 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. This includes reading a few chapters from three recent books (pdfs on Canvas): Sami Schalk, Black Disability Politics (2022), Douglas Baynton, Defectives in the Land: Disability and Immigration in the Age of Eugenics (2016), and Ryan Lee Cartwright, Peculiar Places: A Queer Crip History of White Rural Nonconformity (2021).

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

Accommodations & access:

            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.

There are all-gender washrooms in Savery on mezzanine levels M2 & M3.

            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.

Student Resources

Legal

Mental Health Services to Students

Technology help (UW Seattle)

Libraries

Writing

  • 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
  • Interdisciplinary Writing Studio (IWS) for CHID, GEOG, and GWSS students: https://geography.washington.edu/interdisciplinary-writing-studio
  • Another recommended writing and citation guide resource is the website Purdue OWL: "The Online Writing Lab (OWL) at Purdue University houses writing resources and instructional material, and we provide these as a free service of the Writing Lab at Purdue. Students, members of the community, and users worldwide will find information to assist with many writing projects. Teachers and trainers may use this material for in-class and out-of-class instruction."

More

Catalog Description:
Analysis of topics in the histories of disabled people, disability activism, society's perceptions of disability, and connections with other social movements and categories. Recommended: DIS ST 230/CHID 230/LSJ 230. Offered: jointly with DIS ST 402; AWSpS.
GE Requirements Met:
Diversity (DIV)
Social Sciences (SSc)
Credits:
5.0
Status:
Active
Last updated:
January 10, 2026 - 3:16 pm