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Class Descriptions

Disability Issues: Obstacles and Solution in Today's World

SW773

Credits: 3
Prerequisites: None
Faculty Approval Date: 01/17/2007

Course Description

This course will examine the topic of disability from various perspectives, including the historical development of civil rights, the legal framework, the medical model, and how disability is viewed across various cultures. It will examine different types of disabilities, how people with disabilities are treated and denied equal access to programs and employment, and what political/legal recourse is available to address these inequities. The course will also review progress that has been made in the United States regarding the integration of people with disabilities by removing attitudinal and architectural, barriers that they face in daily life. The course will also address how to interact with individuals who have disabilities, the differences between visible and non-visible disabilities, and how disability can affect individuals depending on whether they are children, teenagers or adults. Issues pertaining to dimensions of diversity (e.g., ability, age, class, color, culture, ethnicity, family structure, gender [including gender identity and gender expression], marital status, national origin, race, religion or spirituality, sex, and sexual orientation) will be given special attention, particularly in areas of policy development and service delivery for people with disabilities.

Objectives

Upon completion of the course students will be able to:

1. Demonstrate knowledge of the various social, political and legal forces affecting the lives of people with disabilities.
2. Articulate how various definitions and models of disability affect individuals who have disabilities.
3. Describe the progress that people with disabilities have made in gaining acceptance and greater opportunity for achievement in U.S. society.
4. Identify differences in treatment faced by individuals with disabilities depending on whether their conditions are visible or non-visible and with regard to other diversity dimensions such as race, gender, class and so on.
5. Assess how recent legislative and legal actions affect people with disabilities.
6. Employ social work skills with people who have disabilities in a variety of settings.

Design

The instructor will require several readings, some of which will be the product of individuals with disabilities. A variety of pedagogical methods will be used, including short lecture, participatory discussions, videos/films, and written assignments. Guest speakers with disabilities will be invited to address specific topics. There will be extensive discussion, and written assignments will be based on research and reflection.

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