Disability and Disability Studies

Disability studies is an interdisciplinary area of academic study and research that is concerned with the cultural meanings of disability, with the experiences and knowledges of disabled people, and with asking critical questions by placing disability at the center rather than the margin. 

Although disability studies is interested in various models of disability (or, ways of understanding disability) it is grounded in the social model. That is, it begins from the premise that disability is not a personal tragedy or medical problem, but rather a form of social, cultural, and political exclusion that affects people with specific kinds of differences. Disability studies emerged alongside disability activism and has taken root in humanities disciplines, but it has always been interdisciplinary and can also be found in fields like law, information science, architecture, and more. 

At University of Michigan

The University of Michigan Initiative in Disability Studies was established in 2003. The Initiative is led by a group of multi-disciplinary faculty and currently offers:

• Rackham 580: Graduate Seminar in Disability Studies, every fall and winter term, with different instructors leading different versions
• Annual speaker series and/or conference, highlighting emerging scholarship in the field
• Funding for graduate student research

Programs in Disability Studies

Many colleges and universities have centers or departments offering degree or certificate programs in Disability Studies. The following lists are not exhaustive, but offer a snapshot of degree-granting programs in English-speaking North America.

• North-American Colleges offering a degree in Disability Studies, from The College Blue Book (2012)
• US programs in Disability Studies offering a degree or certificate, within the Association of University Centers on Disabilities network (2011)
• Disability Studies degree programs, at English-speaking Schools (Cushing & Smith 2009), in Disability Studies Quarterly