English 891
Seminar on Disability in Language and Literature
“Spring” 2013 Prof. B. Brueggemann
9:10am-12:40pm in Denney 207
INSTRUCTOR INFORMATION
contact: brueggemann.1@osu.edu
Office:
506 Denney Hall (behind the West End elevator!)
Office Hours:
My available office hours fluctuate some due to a number of factors this term (the
Constructing James Castle exhibit; travel; various OSU committees & leadership). One of
the BEST times to possibly catch me would be on Wednesdays between NOON-2pm.
However, I am in office/on campus really most days and have availability that changes
daily or weekly. Please just see me in person or contact on email to find a time to meet!
I have many times available, they just change from week to week.
OUR PURPOSE AND PATH:
Although disability studies is a widely interdisciplinary field and people with disabilities are
among the most over-studied people on the planet, a humanities-based approach to the study,
and experience, of disability is relatively new. Critical consideration of the language of/around
disability, the history of disability and people with disabilities, the philosophical place of
differently-abled bodies and minds, and the ways in which disability is represented (and made
metaphor) in literature and art has really only been ongoing in a little over a decade. A
linguistic, historical, philosophical, and literary approach to disability will be the focus of this
course. Our pulse points for this course will be two:
1. The REPRESENTATION of disability and people with disabilities in language and literature.
2. The RELATIONSHIPS over/around disability and the disabled body: relationships with
self and relationships with others (familial, friendly, intimate, in service, in care, etc.)
In attending to this subject, we will also alternate our attention between critical, theoretical
work and primary literary texts. Toggling between these kinds of texts, and feeling for the
twinned pulse, our objectives will be:
 To explore the square of theory, practice, activism, and art (literature and language) in
constituting disability studies;
 To take part in the recovery and (re)construction of a literary and linguistic history of
disability;
 To critically examine “narrative normalcy” and the writing/performance of disability
in literature, language, and film;
 To analyze the ethical, emotional, and logical appeals of disability and disabled bodies
in the historical, literary, and linguistic record.
What particular goals do you have for yourself in this course?
CHECKPOINTS ON THE PATH (ASSIGNMENTS & REQUIREMENTS):
Daily/Weekly “Post-Its” on Carmen & In-class leadership
Brief responses (100-1000 words)
to prompts placed on Carmen or raised in class
50%
Artifact Offering
This assignment comes in two parts:
20%
1. approx. 1000 word (mini) critical paper
2. + 5-10 minute in-class presentation with “poster” session:
a. Assembly #1 (1-6) on Mon. March 4
b. Assembly #2 (7-12) on Mon. March 18
Your artifacts should come from the world around you and they should, of course, be related to disability
and its representations/relationships in language and literature in some way – to our work and
conversations this quarter. Some ideas -- a text that you ran into recently, some choice quotation, an
advertisement, song lyrics, TV show, film, media character, newspaper story on a real person or event, a
toy, a moment in your own reality (witnessing a gaze/stare, overhearing a crippling remark, counting the
times you used “blindness/sight” metaphorically throughout your day) . . . the possibilities are endless.
You might also think of offering an artifact that might in some way connect to your major field of study
or to your own experience of/with disability.
After offering your artifact in a 5-10 minute presentation to the class, post a brief description + critical
evaluation (approx. 1000 words) within ONE WEEK.
Your final project, related to a/your work/texts from this class
30%
Projects can take the form of a standard critical paper of approx. 15-20 pages...
Or a multitude of other forms: blog; documentary/video clip; exhibit design; creative work;
lesson plans; digital media companion; Audacity project; Photoshop or image file/blog; website;
annotated bibliography; grant proposal; conference proposal/presentation; book review etc.
You should FIRST consider developing on/from your own disciplinary foundations and strengths.
OPTIONS/IDEAS:
 Consider extending/revising one of your post-it responses in relation to any of the
literature we read for class (poetry, memoir, letter, fiction). Expansion could be
multi-modal or still just text-based
 Consider weaving together some (or all) of your post-its into a themed quilt
 Consider a proposal for how a future conference presentation or dissertation chapter
might be done from within a “disability studies” frame
 Consider an community/advocacy/activist proposal
 Consider building something further on your artifact offering.
 Consider a book/film review aimed at a specific audience/publication
 All work can be academic-critical, or creative, or digital, or multi-modal… or any
combination of these.
TEXTS AND TERRAINS
 Links and PDFs on CARMEN as indicated

1. Author: Tobin Siebers
Title: Disability Theory
Publisher: University of Michigan Press
ISBN: 13: 9780472050390; 0472050397
2. Author: Charlotte Bronte
Title: Jane Eyre
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 13: 978041441146
3. Author: David Bolt, Julia Miele Rodas, Elizabeth J. Donaldson, Eds
Title: The Madwoman and the Blindman: Jane Eyre, Discourse, Disability
Publisher: Ohio State University Press
ISBN: 978-0-8142-9297-6 (CD)
4. Author: Mark Haddon
Title: The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time
Publisher: Knopf Doubleday
ISBN: 13: 9781400032716
5. Author: Jean-Dominique Bauby
Title: The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
Publisher: Knopf Doubleday
ISBN: 13: 9780375701214
6. Author: Bernard Pomerance
Title: The Elephant Man (a play)
Publisher: Grove/Atlantic
ISBN: 13: 9780802130419
7. Author: Stephen Kuusisto
Title: Planet of the Blind
Publisher: Random House
ISBN: 13: 9780385333276
8.
Author: Michael Northen, Ed
Title: Beauty is a Verb: The New Poetry of Disability
Publisher: Cinco Puntos Press
ISBN: 13: 9781935955054
Required?: Yes
9. Author: David Lodge
Title: Deaf Sentence
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 13: 9780143116059
Required?: Yes
10. Author: Brian Selznick
Title: Wonderstruck
Publisher: Scholastic, Inc
ISBN: 13: 9780545027892
Required?: Yes
11. Author: Dalton Trumbo
Title: Johnny Got His Gun
Publisher: Random House
ISBN: 13: 9780553274325
Required?: Yes
12. Author: Kim E. Nielson
Title: A Disability History of the United States
Publisher: Beacon
ISBN: 13: 9780807022023
Required?: Yes
13. Author: Harilyn Rousso
Title: Don't Call Me Inspirational: A Disabled Feminist Talks Back
Publisher: Temple UP
ISBN: EAN: 978-1-43990-937-9
POLICIES AND RESOURCES
University Writing Center
Everyone has trouble writing, every now and then/again. Let the resources of one of OSU’s best
kept secrets, the University Writing Center-- help you out! They provide free 50-minute personto-person tutorials on any aspect of your writing and also have a number of
guidelines/handouts available online.. They are thrilled to work with graduate students too!
Accessibility, Accommodations, Abilities
We all have varying abilities; we all carry various strengths and weaknesses. Some of these
might even be “documented” with a place like the OSU Office for Disability Services (ODS). If so,
please just let me know. With or without documentation, it is my intent to make our learning
experience as accessible as possible. With documentation, I am especially interested in
providing any student accommodations that have probably been best determined by the
student and an ODS counselor in advance. Please let me know NOW what we can do to
maximize your learning potential, participation, and general access in this course. I am available
to meet with you in person or to discuss such things on email.
The Office for Disability Services is located at 150 Pomerene Hall, 1760 Neil Avenue, phone 2923307 (TDD 292-0901). See: http://www.ods.ohio-state.edu
Academic Misconduct
Plagiarism is the representation of another's works or ideas as one's own: it includes the
unacknowledged word for word use and/or paraphrasing of another person's work, and/or the
inappropriate unacknowledged use of another person's ideas. All cases of suspected plagiarism,
in accordance with university rules, will be reported to the Committee on Academic
Misconduct. Plagiarism via the internet is not only dishonest, it's also liable to be caught.
(Search engines on the internet make detection of plagiarism as easy as plagiarism itself.) For
more on university policies and procedures concerning plagiarism—a charge of academic
misconduct--visit http://www.osu.edu/offices/oaa/procedures/
Attendance
We rely on the community we have to learn this material well. Please attend class with material
prepared in order to contribute to the community. Missing more than two (2) classes will likely
impact your overall grade/performance.
Disability (Studies) at OSU:
 Disability Studies program website: http://disabilitystudies.osu.edu
(sign up for the listerve, DS-OSU!)
 “A History of Disability at OSU” website:
http://digitalunion.osu.edu/r2/summer06/kmetz/index.html
 ADA Coordinator’s office & Multiple Perspectives Conference:
http://ada.osu.edu/conferences.htm
 FAME project: http://www.oln.org/ILT/ada/Fame/
 Disability Studies Quarterly: http://sds-dsq.org
Our Daily Syllabus
(1) Mon. January 7
Getting to Know… Us/The Territory
Well, maybe not…..
(2) Mon. Jan. 14
So, what IS Disability Studies/theory/culture?
Hour 1:
Introductions
Discussion of Course syllabus and elements
Introduction to some basic resources in Disability Studies in the Humanities
Hour 2.5:
In 3 groups, quickly study/survey these 3 resources and report back:
(1) History of Disability, 1050-present (UK)
a. http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/discover/people-and-places/disabilityhistory/
(2) Syracuse University’s Disability Culture Center’s “An Introductory Guide to Disability
Language and Empowerment”
http://sudcc.syr.edu/LanguageGuide/index.html
(3) Disability Studies Quarterly (especially the last decade)
http://dsq-sds.org
Hour 3:
Screen the film, Vital Signs: Crip Culture Talks Back (48 mins)

Not required but greatly encouraged: attend the screening + panel discussion for the
documentary film, James Castle: Portrait of an Artist. Wexner Film/Video Theatre, 4:306pm on Tues. Jan. 15
(3) Mon. Jan. 21
NO CLASS, MLK Day
o Please consider attending the James Castle exhibit at the Urban Arts Space
o Please consider attending the screening of the documentary film about James Castle at
the Wexner Center Film/Video Theatre, Tues. Jan. 15, 4:30-6pm
o Please ponder the role and place of people with disabilities in both Civil Rights and
Human Rights movements and policies around the globe.
(4) Mon. Jan. 28
(New) Canonical Perspectives
Have read:
 Tobin Siebers, Disability Theory (all of it)
University of Michigan Press, 2008
ISBN-13: 9780472050390
ISBN: 0472050397

Brueggemann, “Disability Studies/Disability Culture” chapter forthcoming for the Oxford UP
reference volume on Disability and Positive Psychology (forthcoming, 2013) [posted on
CARMEN]
Screen: Breathing Lessons: The Life and Work of Mark O’Brien
(5) Mon. Feb. 4
Canonical Perspectives
Have read:
 Charlotte Bronte, Jane Eyre
ISBN-13: 9780141441146
Publisher: Penguin Group (USA) Incorporated

The Madwoman and the Blindman: Jane Eyre, Discourse, Disability
Eds. David Bolt, Julia Miele Rodas, Elizabeth J. Donaldson
Ohio State University Press, 2012
$49.95 cloth 978-0-8142-1196-0
$14.95 CD 978-0-8142-9297-6
[NOTE:essays from this collection will be assigned in sets; you will probably
each have TWO essays to read]
(6) Mon. Feb. 11
Curious Autism Incidents
Have read:
 Mark Haddon, Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time
ISBN-13: 9781400032716
Publisher: Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group

Disability Studies Quarterly (DSQ) issue on “Autism and the Concept of Neurodiversity”
http://dsq-sds.org/issue/view/43
(7) Mon. Feb. 18:
Extreme/Cases
Have read:
 Jean-Dominique Bauby, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (memoir)
ISBN-13: 9780375701214
Publisher: Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group

Bernard Pomerance, The Elephant Man (play)
ISBN-13: 9780802130419
Publisher: Grove/Atlantic, Inc.
We will also screen clips from films/performances of these two texts
(8) Mon. Feb. 25:
Have read:
 Stephen Kuusisto, Planet of the Blind
Disability as/and Insight
ISBN-13: 9780385333276
Publisher: Random House Publishing Group


Georgina Kleege, Sight Unseen (excerpts/chapters on CARMEN, assigned to individuals)
Georgina Kleege, Blind Rage: Letter to Helen Keller (excerpts/chapters on CARMEN,
assigned to individuals)
 Lennard Davis, “Deafness as Insight” from Enforcing Normalcy: Disability Deafness and
the Body (Routledge/Verso, 1995)
clips from Lynne Manning’s performances;
Terry Galloway’s short performance, Annie Dearest
2 Melanie Yergeau short films
(9) Mon. March 4
Feminist Disability Studies (Recoveries)
Artifact Assembly #1
Have read:
(all essays placed on CARMEN; each person will have primary focus responsibility for ONE of
these essays)
 Rosemarie Garland-Thomson, “Roosevelt’s Sister”
 Georgina Kleege, “Blind Rage: A Letter to Helen Keller”
 Brenda Brueggemann, “Posting Mabel” (postcards to Mabel Hubbard Bell)
 Anne Finger, “Helen and Frida”
 Susan Burch, “’Beautiful, Though Deaf: Deaf American Beauty Pageants”
 Kim Nielson, “Was Helen Keller Deaf?”
Screen:
Ingelore or Liebe, Perla
* SPRING BREAK: MON. MARCH 11! *
(10)
Mon. March 18
Crip Poetics
Artifact Assembly #2
Have read:
 (your assigned selections from) Beauty is a Verb: The New Poetry of Disability
ISBN-13: 9781935955054
Publisher: Cinco Puntos Press

(11)
Jim Ferris, “The Enjambed Body: A Step Toward Crippled Poetics”
http://www.cstone.net/~poems/essaferr.htm
Mon. March 25
Deaf Days, Part I
Have read:
David Lodge, Deaf Sentence
ISBN-13: 9780143116059
Publisher: Penguin Group (USA) Incorporated
Have screened:
[film] Children of a Lesser God. 1986/2000. OSU Libraries has a copy. Columbus Public
Libraries has 2 copies; available on Netflix; I have one copy.
We may also screen the “all-ASL” (with English captions) show of “Switched at Birth” that it set
to air around March 7….
(12)
Mon. April 1
Deaf Days, Part II
Have read:
Brian Selznick, Wonderstruck
ISBN-13: 9780545027892
Publisher: Scholastic, Inc.
Screen (in class) + discuss: Deaf Jam
(13)
Mon. April 8
War… huh! what is it good for? (disability)
Have read:
Dalton Trumbo Johnny Got His Gun,
ISBN-13: 9780553274325
Publisher: Random House Publishing Group
David Serlin, Replaceable You: Engineering the Body in Postwar America (excerpts posted on
CARMEN)
Screen:
Alive Day Memories: Home from Iraq (James Gandolfini, DIR)
Note: Narrative Medicine Conference is this week, April 4-5
(14)
Mon. April 15
Disability History, Personal and Public
Have read:
 Kim Nielson, A Disability History of the United States.
ISBN-13: 9780807022023
Publisher: Beacon
Publication date: 10/2/2012

Harilyn Rousso, Don’t Call Me Inspirational: A Disabled Feminist Talks Back
Temple UP
EAN: 978-1-43990-937-9, pbk. (early order: published Jan. 18, 2013)
EAN: 978-1-43990-938-6, electronic book
Both Kim Nielson and Harilyn Rousso will be featured speakers at the 15th Annual
“Multiple Perspectives on Access, Inclusion and Disability” Conference on April 16 &
17. Please consider attending their talks at the conference as well. They will both visit
our class that day! http://ada.osu.edu/conferences.htm
(15)
Mon. April 22
Final Project Extravaganza—Show and Tell of in-progress projects
Play Disability Jeopardy!
Pause & Play