This course traces the dynamic relationship between bodies and economies over the course of American history. If disability has been defined as the inability to work, then an exploration of disability necessitates an exploration of capitalism. Moving between disability studies and labor history, students will develop the conceptual tools necessary to understand capitalism through the lens of disability, while also generating new ways to think about disability via critical histories of capitalism. We will also look at how disabled people have pushed back, envisioning new ways of valuing bodies beyond productivity.
Cultural Anthropology