SPAN 1451 - DISRUPTIVE BODIES: STORIES OF ILLNESS AND DISABILITY

Minimum Credits: 3
Maximum Credits: 3
Long Description Departing from the idea that illness and disabilities disrupt the establishment in terms of normality, ability and productivity, this course will focus on the politics of illness and disabilities with the goal of humanizing these processes through narratives and testimonies. Through this we aim to confront the notions of stigma, tragedy and abnormality that have surrounded chronic illness, "catastrophic" illness, and disability; notions that ultimately affect people who experience these conditions. Humanizing means to visibilize journeys, processes, feelings, and experiences of those who are going through sickness or live with disabilities. With the premise that an ill or disabled body is a disruptive body, we will approach sickness and disability from a sociocultural perspective in Latin America and Spain. We will address questions such as: What does it mean to be ill or to live with disabilities? How are these "disruptive bodies" seen and treated? What are the differences and connections between an ill body and a disabled one? What are the politics of pain and suffering in relation to these processes? How do stories told by protagonists, or their loved ones inform us compared to accounts from the medical institution and ableist social paradigms? We will also examine the relationship between illness and disability and the cultural, economical, and political issues of different countries in the Hispanic world. We will try to demystify preconceptions and highlight relevant testimonies from an intersectional perspective. Students will analyze illness and disability through critical interpretation of literary texts, poems, movies*, documentaries, music, media and visual materials using theoretical approaches. Students will be exposed to the following issues: Frontiers and Intersections between Illness and Disability. The implications of Chronic Illness, Perceptions of the Sick Body, Loved Ones' Reflections on Illness, Parenting Children with Disabilities, Demystifying Cancer, The Invisibility ofPain ofIll and Disabled Bodies, The Relevance ofMental Health in Current Times, Sick Writers, Illness as Stigma: AIDS, Covid-19 Pandemic Accounts, and Disabilities and Activism. Students will be expected to engage in critical discussions and engage with invited speakers, and they will be given the opportunity to connect and contrast these issues with their own cultural experience. The course will be student-centered, with mandatory participation. Classes will employ a discussion format led by the instructor.
Academic Career: Undergraduate
Course Component: Lecture
Grade Component: Letter Grade

Click here for class schedule information.

Add to Portfolio.

Close Window