The growing and vibrant interdisciplinary field of disability studies moves the concept of disability beyond the narrowly medical realm in order to interrogate its cultural meanings, politics, history, metaphors, and sociological effects. Disability scholars demonstrate that such seemingly natural oppositions as normal and abnormal emerge from political and historical contexts and have politically measurable consequences for individuals as well as societies. Disability studies further explores how disability is understood in literature and media, and how disabled lives are represented in all forms of art and memoir by those who live them.
Contact Information
Maren Linett, Professor of English
Founding Director of Disability Studies
Purdue University
West Lafayette IN 47907
mlinett [at] purdue [dot] edu
Website:
https://www.cla.purdue.edu/sis/p/disability-studies/
Faculty
Maren Linett, Department of English, Director of Critical Disability Studies
Sherylyn Briller, Department of Anthropology
Yvonne Pitts, Department of History and Program in American Studies
Wendy Kline, Department of History
Brad Duerstock, Department of Industrial Engineering and Biomedical Engineering
Sharon Borkowski, American Sign Language Program, School of Languages and Culture
Angelica Duran, Department of English
Michael Salvo, Department of English
Courses
Students must take:
CDIS 239: Introduction to Disability Studies
And choose 9 credit hours from the following list:
- ANTH 392: Anthropology of Disability
- ANTH 340: Global Health
- ANTH 592: Anthropology of Aging
- ASL 280: American Deaf Community: Language, Culture, and Society
- ENGL 439: Topics in Disability Studies
- HIST 302: Sex, Race, and Science
- HIST 363: History of Medicine and Public Health<
- HIST 480: History of Madness and the Asylum
- IE 590-AT: Assistive Technology Practice
Events
- Disability Studies Fall Lecture, 2018: Melanie Yergeau
- Critical Disability Studies Symposium, February 2016: Rosemarie Garland-Thomson; Michele Friedner; Douglas, Baynton; Jennifer Barclay
- Disability Studies Fall Lecture, 2016: Rabia Belt<
- Disability Studies Fall Lecture, 2017: Alison Kafer