Disability Law Activism

3 Credits · Level: Undergraduate

Dominant narratives of disability cast disabled people as objects of pity, charity, or horror, relegating disability to medicine or psychiatry. In contrast, disabled people have organized across many communities and movements to demand civil and human rights, social justice, and liberation from ableist oppression as a key component of capitalism, white supremacy, and settler colonialism. This course examines narratives of historical and contemporary disability activism and advocacy in and around the nation's capital, as well as differences in strategy and action. The course situates hypervisible forms of activism such as public protest, impact litigation, and national policymaking alongside the tensions and conflicts between movements that claim national recognition and those led by local community organizers in Washington DC. Students develop semester-long projects in solidarity and partnership with disabled-led organizations.