Diversity and Your Department

Resources for addressing diversity and inclusion

Tag: Disability

General (The Arts)

Allan, J. (2014). Inclusive Education and the Arts. Cambridge Journal of Education, 44, 511-523. (PDF)

The first part of this essay surveys current debates about including disabled students in special education versus mainstream education. Allan then moves into discussing how the arts, such as literature and dance, can be effective routes of inclusion and expression for disabled students. This article would be helpful for any professor, across the disciplines, that wishes to engage in disability studies.

Music

Quaglia, B. W. (2015). Planning for Student Variability: Universal Design for Learning in the Music Theory Classroom and Curriculum. Music Theory Online, 21(1). (PDF)

In this article, Quaglia proposes Universal Design for Learning as an effective way to be inclusive of students with disabilities while bettering the classroom environment for all students as a whole. This article is best suited for professors who would be open to adapting to a whole new method of teaching.

Psychology

Dunn, D. S., Fisher, D. J., & Beard, B. M. (2013). Disability as diversity rather than (in)difference: Understanding others' experiences through one's own. In D. S. Dunn, R. A. R. Gurung, K. Z. Naufel & J. H. Wilson (Eds.), Controversy in the psychology classroom: Using hot topics to foster critical thinking. (pp. 209-223). Washington, DC, US: American Psychological Association. (PDF)

In this essay, Dunn et al. advocate for the inclusion of disability studies into undergraduate psychology curriculums. They provide a working definition of disability and related terms and make a thorough case as to why disability should be studied in the psych classroom. This is recommended for all psychology professors.

Theatre

O'Brien, C., Kroner, C., & Placier, P. (2015). Deaf Culture and Academic Culture: Cultivating Understanding Across Cultural and Linguistic Boundaries. Journal of Diversity in Higher Education, 8(2), 104-119. (PDF)

This highly theoretical work examines an experimental teaching experience that exposed students to Deaf Culture through the methodology of the Theatre of the Oppressed. This allowed the students to express and discuss misconceptions they have with Deaf people and gain further insight into life as a differently-abled person. This study would be helpful to any Theatre professor who is interested in teaching, discussing, or directing works that include Deaf and differently-abled characters.