Critical Disability Studies and Intersectionality Through Coursework, Research, and Practicums

• In Event: Constructing Educational Possibilities: What Disability Art and Art Education Offer in Teaching Disabled Youth

Abstract

In this session, we share ways art education students are immersed in Critical Disability Studies and Intersectionality through coursework, research and practicums. Preservice and inservice educators are shown pathways to becoming allies, advocates, practitioners and researchers in the art room. Classroom practices that emphasize access and equity, central concepts to embracing Critical Disability Studies (Hamraie, 2016; Goodley, et al. Eds, 2012), serve as a key foundation for developing inclusive teaching skills. Students entering the field of education may have experiential understandings of how oppression and socio-cultural inequities have informed their own schooling, however, they can find foundational teaching practices that align with their narrative through the lens of Critical Disability Studies (Baglieri, 2017) and Intersectionality (Crenshaw, 2014). Course projects, reflective journals, and research papers encourage students to locate their identities through the formation of teaching philosophies, classroom culture plans, curricular units, and assessment tools. Critical Disability Studies can also contribute to building healthier, more emotionally sustainable professional outcomes (Valle & Connor, 2019) when educators have embraced specific practices to stay balanced and connected to themselves, their classroom and school community .

Intersectionality is also embraced in program coursework through exposure to a range of philosophies, histories and theories of education. Preservice and inservice educators engage in activities and writing assignments that help identify the diversities that exist within themselves. The outgrowth of this work is then applied to the development of classroom culture plans, assessment practices, and curricular content. In addition, observational and responsive classroom techniques are central to all practicum level courses to ensure hands-on experiences embracing Critical Disability Studies (Berger, 2013; 2021) and Intersectionality. This tiered approach of embodied opportunities encourages students to break down both seen and unseen barriers in their own art rooms and beyond, as well as identify alignments in their own lived experiences (Crenshaw, 2014).

Throughout our curriculum we demonstrate alliances and intersections with topics such as Queer Theory, Black Feminist Theory, Culturally Responsive Teaching, Trauma Informed Teaching, and Social and Emotional Learning. We emphasize that Critical Disability Studies and Intersectionality provide a lens in which to examine the complex and expansive reach that social and cultural practices have had on ways in which marginalized communities have been provided access to education. Lastly, we utilize resources stemming from artists' expansive diversities to ensure first-person narratives are included in lesson plans, curricular units, and writing / research projects (Berger, 2013; 2021).

One example of Critical Disability Studies and Intersectionality leading preservice and inservice coursework is through the MA thesis process. Graduate students write a Research Identity Memo (Maxwell, 2013) to identify topics that relate to them as individuals and/or educators. Within those memos, students isolate ideas and research threads that touch upon ableist or medical model approaches that have impacted their identities through barrier-riddled teaching practices or ineffective learner assessment. Case, autoethnographic (Hughes, et al., 2012), transcendental phenomenology, or project based thesis studies are then conducted within the students’ environments such as schools, community programs, and museums.

Authors

• Lauren Stichter, Moore College of Art & Design

• Amanda Newman-Godfrey, Moore College of Art & Design