Disability Studies

Finally, the Disability Studies Practicum (WIND 4500) provides students with an opportunity to spend a semester working in an environment with people with disabilities. Students have had placements with service providers, advocacy organizations, governmental agencies, and schools. These experiences provide students with tremendous opportunities to expand their knowledge about disability and gain exposure to professions they are preparing to enter.

In addition to the three core courses, students are required to complete three elective courses related to disability studies. All 9 elective credits may be WIND courses.

The Disability Studies Minor requires 18 credit hours as follows:

Core Courses: 9 credits

WIND 2100: Introduction to Disability Studies (CH)

WIND 4020: Disability Studies Theory & Practice (COM 3)

WIND 4500: Disability Studies Practicum (Field Placement)

WIND Electives: at least 3 credit hours required (and up to 9 allowed) from other WIND offerings

WIND 2700: Gender and Disability (D)

WIND 3150: Literature & Medicine

WIND 4100: Global Disability Studies (COM 3)

WIND 4200: Diverse Minds (COM 3)

WIND 2500/4990: Topics in Disability Studies

External Electives: up to 6 credit hours may be earned from other UW courses with disability content

We recommend one lower and one upper division elective. Potential courses include:

EDEX 2484: Introduction to Special Education

SPPA 2110/2120: American Sign Language I & II

SPPA 4070: Deaf Studies

PSYC 4320: Intellectual Disability (prerequisite courses in PSYC)

FCSC 4124: Families of Young Children with Special Needs (prerequisite courses in FCSC)

Many other courses may count depending on student interest and instructor consent. Please work with program director, Michelle Jarman, to select internal and external electives.

Courses Offered

USP Codes are listed in brackets by the 2003 USP code followed by the 2015 USP code (i.e. [QB<>Q]).

2100. Introduction to Disability Studies. 3. [CH,D<>H] Provides students with an overview of the disability studies field. Students gain introductory knowledge about the disability studies perspective by examining the work of scholars from many academic backgrounds, which will facilitate students' understanding of the interdisciplinary nature of disability studies.

2500. Topics in:_____. 1-3 (Max. 6). Provides students with the opportunity to gain introductory knowledge by examining various topics in the field of Disability Studies. Prerequisite: Consent of instructor.

2700. Gender and Disability. 3. [D<>H] Disability studies draws upon critical theory to investigate disability as a discursive construction. Investigates how intersecting conceptions of disability and gender have shaped cultural meanings and the social positioning of specific groups, especially women with disabilities. Topics include non-normative embodiment, issues of representation and subjectivity, and the politics of health, sexuality, and care. Cross listed with WMST 2700.

4020. Disability Studies Theory and Practice. 3. [CS<>COM3] Explores the interdisciplinary nature of disability studies theory and scholarship, including investigation of embodied knowledge, cultural meanings, and socio-political practices related to disability. Students will develop in-depth critical disability research papers and deliver accessible, professional presentations. Dual listed with WIND 5020; cross listed with SOWK 4020. Prerequisite: WIND 2100 or WB/COM2.

4050. Independent Study. 1-3 (Max. 6). Offers the advanced student the opportunity to pursue a topic of interest with the direction of an instructor in disability studies. Dual listed with WIND 5050. Prerequisite: WB and consent of instructor.

4200. Diverse Minds. 3. Through investigations of novels, memoirs, films, and media representations of intellectual disability, autism/neurodiversity, and psychiatric disability, students critically analyze figurations of “unstable,” “unruly,” or what we will conceptualize as “diverse” minds. Dual listed with WIND 5200. Prerequisite: WIND 2100 or consent of instructor.

4500. Practicum. 3. Provides students practical experience in the field of Disability. Typically taken during a student's final semester in the Disability Studies Minor. Prerequisite: completion of WIND 2100, and WIND elective, WIND 4020 (or concurrent enrollment).

4990. Topics in:_____. 1-3 (Max. 12). Provides upper division/graduate students with the opportunity for critical analysis and in-depth examination of various topics in the field of Disability Studies. Prerequisite: Junior standing and consent of instructor.

5020. Disability Studies Theory and Practice. 3. Explores the interdisciplinary nature of disability studies theory and scholarship, including investigation of embodied knowledge, cultural meanings, and socio-political practices related to disability. Students will develop in-depth critical disability research papers and deliver accessible, professional presentations. Dual listed with WIND 4020; cross listed with SOWK 5020. 

5050. Independent Study. 1-3 (Max. 6). Offers the advanced student the opportunity to pursue a topic of interest with the direction of an instructor in disability studies. Dual listed with WIND 5050. Prerequisite: WB and consent of instructor.

5100. Topics. 1-3 (Max. 12). Provides graduate students with the opportunity for critical analysis and in-depth examination of various topics in the field of Disability Studies. Prerequisite: upper division/graduate standing.

5200. Diverse Minds. 3. Through investigations of novels, memoirs, films, and media representations of intellectual disability, autism/neurodiversity, and psychiatric disability, students critically analyze figurations of “unstable,” “unruly,” or what we will conceptualize as “diverse” minds. Dual listed with WIND 5200. Prerequisite: consent of instructor.

5990. Graduate School Internship. 1-12 (Max. 24). Provides graduate students with the opportunity for internship experiences within the disability field.