| CODE | DBS5021 | |||||||||
| TITLE | Narratives of Disability | |||||||||
| UM LEVEL | 05 - Postgraduate Modular Diploma or Degree Course | |||||||||
| MQF LEVEL | 7 | |||||||||
| ECTS CREDITS | 5 | |||||||||
| DEPARTMENT | Disability Studies | |||||||||
| DESCRIPTION | The aim of this study-unit is to look at auto/biographical and fictional narratives of the lives of disabled people. The narratives considered include autobiographies written by disabled people or parents of disabled children, biographies and documentaries about disabled people, and novels, short stories, films, and television series that portray stories of real or fictional disabled characters. In considering these different types of narratives, there is a focus on the extent to which they are based on the perspectives of disabled people and/or on preconceived ideas about disability. There is also a focus on intersectionality and how these narratives may be portraying the different identities of disabled people. In addition, there is a focus on issues of power raised by these narratives, with power being understood as a reality that needs to be acknowledged. The narratives are therefore also considered as ‘small narratives’ within the dominant narratives of disability, which enables an analysis of the extent to which they challenge or reinforce these dominant narratives. These analyses then lead to a consideration of the possibilities and potential that narratives of disability provide for disabled people’s activism. Study-Unit Aims: The aim of this study-unit is to enable the students to familiarise themselves with the various types of narratives of the lives of disabled people, and with different theoretical frameworks within which these narratives can be analysed. The study-unit also aims to enable students to apply these theoretical frameworks to specific narratives in order to critique the way that disability is portrayed and its function in the various narratives considered. Learning Outcomes: 1. Knowledge & Understanding: By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: - describe the key differences between various types of narratives, and the theoretical frameworks within which these narratives can be analysed; - consider the implications of these differences in the portrayal of disability in narratives; - identify narratives which either challenge or reinforce dominant narratives of disability; - discuss how narratives of disability can be used by disability activists to further the cause of disabled people. 2. Skills: By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: - analyse the ways that disability is portrayed in specific narratives, through the use of a chosen theoretical framework; - critique issues of power in the narrative of a person with disability; - appraise the usefulness of narratives of disability for disability activism. Main Text/s and any supplementary readings: - Mitchell, D. T. & Snyder, S. L. (2000) Narrative Prosthesis: Disability and the Dependencies of Discourse (Corporealities: Discourses of Disability). University of Michigan Press. - O’Brien, R. (2004) Voices from the Edge: Narratives about the Americans with Disabilities Act. Oxford University Press. - Quayson, A. (2007) Aesthetic Nervousness: Disability and the Crisis of Representation. Columbia University Press. - Raoul, V., Canam, C., Henderson, A. & Paterson, C. (2007). Unfitting Stories: Narrative Approaches to Disease, Disability, and Trauma. Wilfrid Laurier University Press. - Sherwood, L.A. (2011) A Counterstory to Master Narratives for Persons with Disability: Carolyn Scheidies' Life History. Proquest, Umi Dissertation Publishing. |
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| STUDY-UNIT TYPE | Blended Learning | |||||||||
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The University makes every effort to ensure that the published Courses Plans, Programmes of Study and Study-Unit information are complete and up-to-date at the time of publication. The University reserves the right to make changes in case errors are detected after publication.
The availability of optional units may be subject to timetabling constraints. Units not attracting a sufficient number of registrations may be withdrawn without notice. It should be noted that all the information in the description above applies to study-units available during the academic year 2025/6. It may be subject to change in subsequent years. |
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