Disability Studies centers the lived experiences of disabled people. It also emphasizes the role of the disability community in defining problems and evaluating solutions concerning disability experience, equity, access, and justice.
The premise of disability studies is that our culture's construction of disability as well as legal, social and institutional practices concerning disability have real-life and often negative impacts on people with disabilities. Moreover, barriers to equity and inclusion are not indicative of individual cognitive or physical "deficits," but of a collective moral deficit within society as a whole. Yet, while disability representations, metaphors, narratives, historical developments, laws, and other social phenomena may create or maintain barriers, disability identities, communities, values and aesthetics may be positive, empowering, and change-making.
Disability Studies scholarship and teaching enhance the understanding of disability by incorporating social, cultural, historical, legal, and political perspectives, including the connections between disability and other identities, and facilitating the development of practical skills, and fostering principles of advocacy and social justice.
The development of Disability Studies at UC represents a much-needed pro-active approach to addressing pervasive discrimination towards disabled people in our society and the celebration of disabled people, identities, and communities. Establishing a Disability Studies program acknowledges the University's commitment to this field of study and to research, teaching, and service.