Third Paper Prompt and Resources

Hi all,

Here is the prompt for your third paper.

Words and Pictures: The Perception of Disability

In our discussions of disability, we haven’t concerned ourselves with the strictly medical/physiological experiences of disability. Instead, we’ve concentrated on how disability as a social category is perceived and perpetuated through language and images, and even how particular conditions are defined or declassified as disabilities over time.

In 5-7 pages, select a condition or experience that’s been defined or perceived as a disability, and explain its cultural interpretation: how it has been portrayed/treated in society.

Conduct original research on your chosen example. You will have to find TWO SOURCES minimum. One of these three sources must be a secondary source on your chosen topic: a scholarly article, academic book chapter, academic paper, etc. One of these three sources must be a primary source about your chosen topic: a film, novel, biography/memoir, essay, graphic novel, etc.In writing about the cultural interpretation of a disability, there are a few questions you can ask yourself to develop your argument:

• What words, phrases and labels have been applied? How have they changed over time? How does this language influence your example’s reception in popular culture?

• What images (in film, television, the news, social/political events) are available?

• What qualities or features are communicated through these images? Frailty? Immorality? Animality? Weakness?

You will have to support your position through these analyses, and pinpoint how language and images have shaped social perceptions of disability. You must use 12 point font, reasonable margins, and conform to MLA standards for quoting, citation, and bibliography.

ROUGH DRAFT: 4/3
FINAL DRAFT: 4/12

PAPER RESOURCES:

I have emailed all of you a PDF of the Disability Studies Reader, I highly recommend looking over the table of contents for the Disabilities studies reader to look for any articles that might be helpful to you.  I said in the assignment description that you have to use at least two secondary sources, so an effective way to structure your paper might be to use a scholarly article for your chosen condition, and apply it to a primary source, like a book or a film or a commercial or an image. 

Here's a link to a list of films/documentaries/TV/media around people with different disabilities, to get you started on finding a primary source:

Disability in Media: A List