Disability and Human Development

Taking an interdisciplinary approach, the program in disability and human development examines different societal aspects—health care, culture, politics, economics, history, legislation, education and social attitudes—that uniquely impact the experience and development of people living with disabilities.

In the coursework, disability is explored and understood through a social model that's based on history and culture. Under this formulation, disability is not inherent in the disabled person, but a result of sociocultural dynamics that occur in interactions between society, the environment and people with disabilities. In other words, Disability Studies’ subject matter is not simply human differences, but the meaning our society has historically made of those differences by constructing disability as inferior and a “lack” based on particular cultural norms.