Disability Studies Overview

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Interdisciplinary Minor
College of Letters and Science

A316 Murphy Hall
Box 951430
Los Angeles, CA 90095-1430

Disability Studies
310-206-1667
E-mail contact

Victoria E. Marks, BA, Chair

 

Disability—whether bodily, cognitive, emotional, or sensory—is part of the fabric of universal human experience; yet it is often regarded as a deficit to be fixed, cured, or hidden, with disabled individuals cast as unfortunate victims. The robust Disability Studies program is challenging this view, changing attitudes, and redefining normal.

By exploring disability as a social issue and cultural identity rather than a medically defined condition, students are prepared to use the experience of disability as a lens to re-envision models of access, inclusion, participation, communication, and equality.

Led by some of the most distinguished UCLA faculty, disability studies examines the meaning, nature, and consequences of disability from a variety of perspectives including arts and humanities, health sciences, social sciences, public policy, technology, and education. At UCLA, the conversation around disability has shifted from exclusion to inclusion, from limitations to possibilities.