This is an academically-focused course designed to increase students’ understanding of international law related to disability from a human-rights-based perspective. The United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UN CRPD) will play a central role in study throughout the semester. Two important aspects of this course will be to 1) Provide students with a multifaceted comprehension of disability rights theory and its implications for modern society in the fields of education, employment, government participation, etc. 2) Encourage students to more broadly consider how disability and “mainstream” society are interlinked and cannot be compartmentalized, especially given the rapidly-evolving technological advancement of the modern world.

This course and its accompanying exams will be designed not to test students’ ability to memorize provisions of various international disability rights laws, but rather to challenge students to think deeply about barriers that exist in society in relation to persons with disabilities and think about issues related to disability from different perspectives, as well as offer creative solutions to difficult problems faced by those who support disability rights within society. The teaching style of the course will: A) Be student-centered, B) Comprehensive, and C) Consider why and how, not only what the law is.

Throughout the semester, students will be called upon to actively participate in in-class discussion, do numerous short writing assignments, give their own ideas, and consider international perspectives.

5 Topics of Course Content:
1) Introduction to Disability Rights Movement and UN CRPD
2) Employment and Education
3) International Disability Rights
4) Participation in society, government, and culture
5) Disability rights as human rights, new tech and the future