Fall 2018 | University of Wisconsin – Madison
ART HIST 430 Topics in Visual Culture: Cripping Visual Culture
GEN&WS 370 Topics in Gender and Disability: Cripping Visual Culture
2:30-3:45, Tuesdays and Thursdays
MECHANICAL ENGINEERING 1164
Course URL: https://crippingvisualculture.wordpress.com
Instructor: Jessica A. Cooley
Department of Art History
University of Wisconsin-Madison
Office: 206B Elvehjem (Dr. Jill H. Casid)
Office Hours: T/TH 4 – 5 | Please sign up for office hours at jessicacooley.youcanbook.me
Email: jacooley2@wisc.edu
Course Description
Art History 430 Topics in Visual Culture & GEN&WS 370 Topics in Gender and Disability: Cripping Visual Culture introduces students to key issues, theories, and methods at the intersection of visual culture studies and disability studies. This course begins with the premise that disability is an identity, an embodied experience, as well as a radical aesthetic and political tactic at work in visual culture. Disability art has been broadly defined in terms of biography (was the artist disabled?), subject matter (is disability represented?), and style (does the mode of representation convey disability?). We will address these methodological approaches within the context of visual culture studies as well as thinking with the following units as sites to unsettle and redefine the intersection of disability and visual cultures: 1. The Politics of Space: Cripping UW-Madison; 2. Design and Fashion: Making it Work; 3. Comics and Graphic Medicine; and 4. Spectacle, Museums, and Curatorial Context
Intersectionality is a critical component of this course as we consider how a multiplicity of power structures effect, oppress, and produce complex embodiment – that is, the discourse of disability does not exist without discourses of race, class, gender, sexuality, nationality, and religion. This course will also bring students up-to-date with the most recent scholarship in the field including engaging with crip theory and considering how to formulate that which has yet to be done, that is, an opportunity to ask how we might articulate a crip aesthetics and an accessibility aesthetics.
In place of traditional exams, students will produce small projects that will correspond with each of the course units. These projects will include both creative and written components that can take the shape of a research paper, curatorial project, or a substantial creative project. Cripping Visual Culture will take up a broad range of media including art, design, fashion, architecture, and graphic novels to grapple with the core question of why it matters – politically, aesthetically, and materially – to study the intersections of disability and visual cultures.
There is no expectation that students will have background in art history, visual culture studies, or disability studies. However, students who come to this class with previous knowledge are encouraged to bring their own expertise to class discussions and projects.
Course Information
ART HIST 430 Topics in Visual Culture: Cripping Visual Culture introduces key issues, theories, and methods at the intersection of visual culture studies and disability studies. Subject differs each semester. Breadth—Humanities. Level—Intermediate. Counts as Liberal Arts and Science credit in College of Letters and Science. No requisites. 3 credits.
GEN&WS 370 Topics in Visual Culture: Cripping Visual Culture introduces key issues, theories, and methods at the intersection of visual culture studies and disability studies. Subject differs each semester. Breadth—Humanities. Level—Intermediate. Counts as Liberal Arts and Science credit in College of Letters and Science. No requisites. 3 credits.
Instructional Mode (Traditional Carnegie Definition): direct faculty instruction, consisting of two 75-minute meetings per week of in-class lecture, group discussion, and student presentations. Over two hours of out-of-class student work (reading and four projects) over approximately 15 weeks.
Learning Outcomes
1. Demonstrate knowledge of key concepts, methods, and artistic practices at the intersection of disability studies and visual culture.
2. To expand the student’s knowledge of disability, race, class, gender, sexuality, nationality, and religion through various media including: art, design, fashion, architecture, and graphic novels.
3. Synthesize course content with personal academic research interests, to complete an independent research/creative project.
4. Develop ability to critically and creatively extend, challenge, and revise concepts at the intersection of disability studies and visual culture.
Rules, Rights, and Responsibilities
Academic Integrity
By enrolling in this course, each student assumes the responsibilities of an active participant in UW-Madison’s community of scholars in which everyone’s academic work and behavior are held to the highest academic integrity standards. Academic misconduct compromises the integrity of the university. Cheating, fabrication, plagiarism, unauthorized collaboration, and helping others commit these acts are examples of academic misconduct, which can result in disciplinary action. This includes but is not limited to failure on the assignment/course, disciplinary probation, or suspension. Substantial or repeated cases of misconduct will be
forwarded to the Office of Student Conduct & Community Standards for additional review. For more information, refer to studentconduct.wiscweb.wisc.edu/academic-integrity/.
Disability and Universal Access Statement:
“Ensuring access for all students is taken very seriously in this course. It is my intention to support the full participation of all students in the learning process. The course involves visual and auditory aspects in addition to theoretical and narrative aspects; however, the instruction will incorporate access for individuals with different levels of visual and aural abilities including captioning, audio descriptions, sound amplification, and enlarged screen as much as possible. Evaluations will be conducted with appropriate accommodations as needed. I encourage students not to wear strong perfume or chemical products that might affect others with chemical sensitivity. In spite of these efforts, situations may occur in which the learning style of individual students is not met by the instructional climate. I encourage students who require specific or additional support to understand the course contents or fulfill the course requirement to inform me as soon as possible. Students who require accommodations for access and participation in this course may contact The McBurney Disability Resource Center. The Center provides useful assistance and documentation regarding physical, learning, sensory, psychological or other kinds of disabilities: 608-263-2741, 608-225-7956 (text); 608-265-2998 (fax); 702 W. Johnson St. Suite 2104, Madison, WI 53715; http://www.mcburney.wisc.edu.” 1
1 Disability and Universal Access Statement from Dr. Eunjung Kim (Syracuse University), GEN & WS 371: Disability and Gender in Film, Fall 2014
Official UW-Madison, McBurney Disability Resource Center Statement
“The University of Wisconsin-Madison supports the right of all enrolled students to a full and equal educational opportunity. The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), Wisconsin State Statute (36.12), and UW-Madison policy (Faculty Document 1071) require that students with disabilities be reasonably accommodated in instruction and campus life. Reasonable accommodations for students with disabilities is a shared faculty and student responsibility. Students are expected to inform faculty [me] of their need for instructional accommodations by the end of the third week of the semester, or as soon as possible after a disability has been incurred or recognized. Faculty [I], will work either directly with the student [you] or in coordination with the McBurney Center to identify and provide reasonable instructional accommodations. Disability information, including instructional accommodations as part of a student’s educational record, is confidential and protected under FERPA.” http://mcburney.wisc.edu/facstaffother/faculty/syllabus.php
Diversity & Inclusion
Institutional statement on diversity: “Diversity is a source of strength, creativity, and innovation for UW-Madison. We value the contributions of each person and respect the profound ways their identity, culture, background, experience, status, abilities, and opinion enrich the university community. We commit ourselves to the pursuit of excellence in teaching, research, outreach, and diversity as inextricably linked goals.
The University of Wisconsin-Madison fulfills its public mission by creating a welcoming and inclusive community for people from every background – people who as students, faculty, and staff serve Wisconsin and the world.” https://diversity.wisc.edu/
Required Readings
All readings will be available electronically via https://crippingvisualculture.wordpress.com. You are required to read all assigned articles or book chapters before the class.
Classroom Conduct and Late Projects Policy
Please respect your fellow students’ right to a quiet and non-distracting learning environment. Arriving late and leaving early is disruptive to the class. Cell phones, texting, and other distractions are not allowed during class unless they are pre-approved by the instructor for access needs. You may use your laptop or other reading and note-taking devices to access readings and take notes. Projects turned in late will have five percentage points deducted for each 24-hour period after the due date. Projects will not be accepted more than five days after the due date.
Email / Communication with Instructor Policy
– Please begin the subject line of your email with either AH430 or GWS 370, followed by the subject of the email. This will help to ensure that your correspondence is not lost in the vast ocean of emails received daily.
– I check email between 10am – 5pm, weekdays. Please allow 24 – 48 hours for a response.
Grading
You will receive number grades on your projects (each component of the project is weighted) and your class participation (which includes contributions to class discussion over the course of the semester). Grades are not curved. To convert the numbers to letter grades, use the following:
94-100 = A
90-93 = AB
86-89 = B
82-85 = BC
78-81 = C
70-77 = D
COURSE REQUIREMENTS
1. Preparedness, Attendance, and Active Participation – 25%
Attendance is mandatory. Missing more than 3 classes will automatically reduce your Preparedness, Attendance, and Active Participation grade by a full letter grade. Every class missed thereafter will reduce your grade by an additional letter grade. For example, missing 4 classes = B; missing 5 classes = C; etc. If you are experiencing a problem that causes numerous absences, please communicate with me to figure out the best way to meet your educational needs.
You are required to read the assigned readings before coming to class. Speaking up, listening actively, and participating during class discussion including a small group setting is important to facilitate mutual learning process. Participation will be self-evaluated in the middle of the semester.
2. Works in progress presentations – 5%
3. First Project – 10%
Due: 10/14, Sunday by 5pm
4. Second Project – 15%
Due: 11/11, Sunday by 5pm
5. Third Project – 20%
Due: 12/2, Sunday by 5pm
6. Fourth Project – 25%
Due: 12/20, Thursday by 5pm
Weekly Schedule
(Reading list and course elements may change during the semester)
Week 1 – Introduction to the Class
9/6, Thursday:
Syllabus overview
Week 2- Introduction to Disability Representation and Aesthetics
9/11, Tuesday:
Garland-Thomson, Rosemarie. “Disability and Representation.” PMLA 120, no. 2 (2005): 522-27. http://www.jstor.org.ezproxy.library.wisc.edu/stable/25486178.
Siebers, Tobin. “Introducing Disability Aesthetics.” In Disability Aesthetics, 1–20. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 2010.
9/13, Thursday:
Kleege, Georgina. “Chapter 4: The Mind’s Eye.” In Sight Unseen, 93–121. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1999.
Week 3- The Politics of Space: Cripping UW-Madison PART 1
9/18, Tuesday:
GUEST SPEAKER:Jason Glozier, Disability Rights and Services Program Specialist, City of Madison Department of Civil Rights
“Guidelines for Universally Accessible and Usable Workplaces,”World Workplace Europe 2003, Prague, Czech Republic, May 11-13, 2003, Session #: 503
9/20, Thursday:
In class: we will discuss your first project: rough draft presentation on 10/9 and 10/11 and final due on 10/14. Project description and grading rubric to be handed out in class.
Catch up day for questions / class discussion
Week 4 – The Politics of Space: Cripping UW-Madison PART 2
9/25, Tuesday:
Hamraie, Aimi. “Introduction: Critical Access Studies.” In Building Access: Universal Design and the Politics of Disability, 1 – 18.Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 2017.
9/27, Thursday:
Kafer, Alison. “Introduction: Imagined Futures.” In Feminist, Queer, Crip, 1–24. Bloomington (Ind.): Indiana University Press, 2013.
Week 5- The Politics of Space: Cripping UW-Madison PART 3
10/2, Tuesday:
McRuer, Robert. “Compulsory Able-Bodiedness and Queer: Disabled Existence.” In The Disability Studies Reader, edited by Lennard J. Davis, Fifth edition., 396–405. New York: Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group, 2017.
10/4, Thursday:
GUEST SPEAKER: Caelyn Randall, Ph.D. candidate, Department of Rhetoric, Politics, and Culture
Chess, Simone, Alison Kafer, Jessi Quizar, and Mattie Udora Richardson. “CALLING ALL RESTROOM REVOLUTIONARIES!” In That’s Revolting! Queer Strategies for Resisting Assimilation, edited by Mattilda Bernstein Sycamore, New rev. and expanded ed., 216–35. Brooklyn: Soft Skull Press : Distributed by Publishers Group West, 2008.
Week 6 – The Politics of Space: Cripping UW-Madison PART 4
10/9, Tuesday:
Student presentations of project 1 – works in progress
10/11, Thursday:
Student presentations of project 1 – works in progress
PROJECT 1: 10/14, Sunday, Project 1 due by 5pm
Week 7- Design and Fashion: Making it Work PART 1
10/16, Tuesday:
In class: we will discuss your second project: rough draft presentation on 10/30, 11/1, and 11/6 and final due 11/11. Project description and grading rubric to be handed out in class.
Hendren, Sara. “All Technology Is Assistive: Six Design Rules on ‘disability.’” Medium, October 16, 2014.
Review “Guidelines for an adaptive technology working group”on this website: http://aplusa.org
10/18, Thursday:
In class: Student self-evaluation of participation
Pullin, Graham. “Fashion Meets Discretion.” In Design Meets Disability, 13–38. Cambridge, Mass: MIT Press, 2009.
Watch the first video located on: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1976315538/rebirth-garments-queer-fashion-for-all-bodies-and
Review the following websites:
http://rebirthgarments.com/about-1/
Week 8- Design and Fashion: Making it Work PART 2
10/23, Tuesday:
Guffey, Elizabeth E. “A Critical Design? (1990 – Today).” In Designing Disability: Symbols, Space, and Society, 161–186, 2018.
Review the “Accessible Icon Project” here: http://accessibleicon.org
10/25, Thursday:
Smith, Marquard. “The Vulnerable Articulate: James Gillingham, Aimee Mullins, and Matthew Barney.” In The Prosthetic Impulse: From a Posthuman Present to a Biocultural Future, edited by Marquard Smith and Joanne Morra, 43–72. Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press, 2006.
Review the alternative limb project: http://www.thealternativelimbproject.com
Week 9- Design and Fashion: Making it Work PART 3
10/30, Tuesday:
Student presentations of project 2 – works in progress
11/1, Thursday:
Student presentations of project 2 – works in progress
Week 10 – Design and Fashion: Making it Work PART 4
Comics and Graphic Medicine PART 1
11/6, Tuesday:
Student presentations of project 2 – works in progress
PROJECT 2: 11/11, Sunday, Project 2 due by 5pm
11/8, Thursday:
In class: we will discuss your third project: Student workshop in small groups on 11/27 and final due on 12/2. Project description and grading rubric to be handed out in class and discussed.
Price, Margaret. “Introduction.” In Mad at School: Rhetorics of Mental Disability and Academic Life, 1–24. Corporealities. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 2011.
Johnson, Jenell M. Excerpts from “Introduction.” In Graphic Reproduction: A Comics Anthology, edited by Jenell M. Johnson and Susan Merrill Squier. Graphic Medicine. University Park, Pennsylvania: The Pennsylvania State University Press, 2018.
Week 11- Comics and Graphic Medicine PART 2
11/13, Tuesday:
Gilman, Sander L. “Chapter One: Depicting Disease: A Theory of Representing Illness.” In Disease and Representation: Images of Illness from Madness to AIDS, 1–17. Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1988.
Excerpts from My Degeneration by Peter Dunlap-Shohl.
11/15, Thursday:
This material is password protected on the course website. The password is: [ASK THE INSTRUCTOR]
Forney, Ellen. Marbles: Mania, Depression, Michelangelo, and Me: A Graphic Memoir. New York: Gotham Books, 2012. p. 1 – 113
Week 12 – Comics and Graphic Medicine PART 3
11/20, Tuesday:
Forney, Ellen. Marbles: Mania, Depression, Michelangelo, and Me: A Graphic Memoir. New York: Gotham Books, 2012. p. 113 – 237
11/22, Thursday: Thanksgiving – No Class
Week 13- Comics and Graphic Medicine PART 4 & Conclusions and Final Projects PART 1
11/27, Tuesday:
Student workshop project 3 in small groups – works in progress
PROJECT 3: 12/2, Sunday, Project 3 due by 5pm
11/29, Thursday:
In class: we will discuss your final project: rough draft presentation on 12/4, 12/6, and 12/11and final due on 12/20. Project description and grading rubric to be handed out in class and discussed.
Catch up Day for questions / class discussion
Week 14- Conclusions and Final Projects PART 2
12/4, Tuesday:
Student presentations of final project – works in progress
12/6, Thursday:
Student presentations of final project – works in progress
Week 15- Conclusions and Final Projects PART 3
12/11, Tuesday:
Student presentations of final project – works in progress
FINAL (FOURTH) PROJECT DUE: 12/20, Thursday, project due by 5pm
Cripping Visual Culture 