May 11, 2017 - 22:22
My experience in this class has greatly expanded my view of disability. My perspective on disability has always been through the lens of my disability and my brother’s disability, and it has been difficult for me, in the past, to take my own experiences and emotions out of the equation and just absorb the authentic experiences of other people. The knowledge and understanding that I have gained from this class has taken me outside of my own experience, and I have started to see disability outside of myself. I can better accept and understand the experiences of disabled people who feel differently from me, who may not consider themselves disabled, who may desperately want a cure for their impairment, or who reject the social model of disability. Through this class, I grew to understand that there is no one “right” way to conceptualize one’s own disability, and there is no one “right” way to talk about disability. Before, I tended to categorize issues and opinions on disability in black and white, but in this class I was able to bring in the gray in a careful and nuanced way.
This growth came from many elements of the class. The readings that we did encompassed so many different perspectives from so many different people; the class discussions were engaging and my classmates all brought fascinating perspectives to each issue; the partnerships with CCW and ACLAMO challenged me to gain a practical as well as theoretical understanding of disability; and the projects gave me the opportunity to explore areas of interest and conflict that inspired me. One particularly relevant influence was the discussion that we had about the extrinsic and intrinsic value of Deaf culture. My initial reaction to this conversation was to shut down discussion of the “extrinsic” value of people with disabilities because it seemed to me to imply that the intrinsic value of disabled people was not enough to justify their existence. However, the readings and class discussion made me realize that extrinsic value can be discussed without completely breaking down the idea of intrinsic value -- that not all discourses around disability have to be politicized. Disability is a culture that can and should be shared and explored, and though it’s difficult to do that when there are already so many dominant discourses threatening the lives and wellbeing of people with disabilities, it is a necessary part of studying disability.
The Harriet McBryde Johnson piece about meeting Peter Singer was also influential in this way, as McBryde Johnson actively addressed that her role as a disability advocate did not seem contradictory to meeting and interacting with this eugenicist. Her life and her experiences with disability are not defined solely in a political context. These are just a few examples, but as I said above, the structure and content of the class as a whole -- the fact that we explored so many different ideas and perspectives throughout the course of the semester and that we were encouraged to independently explore areas of interest -- was what helped my view of disability grow.
As a political science major with a disability concentration, this broadened view of disability is necessary for me to understand the full political implications of laws, regulations, social movements, and the like. For example, the regulation that CCW is currently fighting that requires a minimum number of hours of community engagement for programs for people with intellectual disabilities seems, on the surface, like a good idea to prevent sheltered workshops that just hide disabled people away. But when examined closer, questions arise: why should people with disabilities have arbitrary standards regulating the amount of time that they spend in the community? How will this affect varied populations of disabled people engaged in varied activities?
If I had continued always thinking of disability in terms of my own experience, I would not have been able to see past laws and ideas that appear good, but can actually be limiting for people with disabilities whose experiences do not match mine. I absolutely believe that what I have learned in this class will color discussions of disability that I have in future classes and elsewhere. The nuance that my thinking on disability has gained will doubtless affect my way of thinking about other critical issues as well.
I developed as a writer through this class because the flexibility of the two large assignments allowed me to explore how I naturally compose and how the ideas that I discussed could be best expressed, rather than feeling married to a strict format. Additionally, I have gained confidence working with kids because of the experience at ACLAMO, and I have reconnected with my love for art through that partnership and through my final project. I contributed to others’ learning in the class by actively engaging in class discussion, bringing my unique perspective and background knowledge to the table, coming prepared to class, and participating actively in many of the events with CCW and ACLAMO. I learned more things in this class than I could ever fit in this reflection, and I feel as though I grew as a thinker, student, writer, and disability studies scholar in ways that I might not even realize.