DSAB 622 - Disability in Mass Media (3 Credits)

Prerequisite: None
This course focuses on issues related to disability and mass media representation, including journalism, TV, film, advertising, photography, documentary, comic art and the Internet. Topics covered will include:

The relationship between disability studies and media studies;
The various models of media representation of disability;
The impact of stigma in mass media imagery;
Mediated bodies - the impact of cultural and media representations on the experiences of people with disabilities;
Disability media, i.e. content created by and for people with disabilities;
Content and textual analysis - researching the prevalence and meaning of mediated disability representation;
News about disability rights in U.S. society, what is and isn’t covered; and
“Hidden” disabilities and how they do or don’t get onto the media’s radar.