ARTS 379 Art and Disability
This art history, upper division course introduces students to an intersectional approach to art, activism, disability, and accessibility. Students will learn about collaborative and community-centered artistic and curatorial practices that advocate for museums and galleries to become more accessible and aware of their biases and barriers. By looking at examples of radical accessibility in art, this course addresses topics like proactive crip-friendly exhibition design, inclusive educational programs, artistic activism, crip theories, disability aesthetics, and critical strategies. As they learn and research, students will also develop an accessibility project for an art space.
2 Undergraduate credits
Effective May 6, 2026 to present
Learning outcomes
General
- Apply art history methodologies to explain the traditional tropes in relation to ability / disability in different art periods.
- Analyze how artists, curators, and institutions challenge ableist visual tropes while also exploring and celebrating difference.
- Examine their own identity, beliefs, behaviors, and biases regarding art that visualizes and reimages disability.
- Demonstrate an understanding of crip art aesthetics and practices and the wider implications in Art History, art institutions, and their visual impact in American society.
- Develop appropriate language around art and disability that addresses accessibility in the arts as a necessary communication skill to effectively live and work in a diverse society.
- Create an accessibility project for an art space of their choosing.