FMS 295-01 - Special Topic: Cinemas of Disability

4 credits Spring

Cross-listed as: ARH 295-04. In this course, we will examine key histories of disability in the cinema from both artistic and medical perspectives. Through analyses of both representation and cinematic style, students will gain an understanding of how disability has been and continues to be a subject for the cinema. The course is broken down into three sections – Histories of Disability, Form and Disability, and Documenting Disability. Histories of Disability analyzes the key perspectives on and stereotypes of disability within the history of film. Form and Disability considers how accessibility or accessible views can be a part of the formal style of film. Documenting Disability surveys how documentary filmmaking has been a significant tool in disability rights and related political movements. Throughout the course, we will ground our conversations in the various theoretical questions and tensions found within our primary readings and viewings. These include questions about the politics of war and disability, looking and spectatorship, intersections of gender and madness, media accessibility, debilitation and environmental injustice, and accessible healthcare.

Prerequisite: Second year standing.
Instructor: Ely