Literature and Disability Studies: Cognitive Disabilities

Dr. Dalit Alperovich

Course description:

Disability Studies is a growing field of study which sheds light on the ways in which society constructs the boundaries of normalcy. This course examines literary representations of the more “hidden” disabilities – mainly cognitive, intellectual and mental. How does non-physical disability function in narrative? How does literature shape the ways in which we think about non-physical disabilities? How do definitions of disability change in different historical, political, social and cultural contexts? What is the relation between disability and identity politics in literature? How does literature give voice to the subjectivity of the disabled person and what are the ethical considerations of such representations? The course engages in these issues by closely examining literary works and by discussing theoretical and analytical essays that address these questions.

Course requirements:

A midterm paper – 35%

Three short forum assignments – 15%

A final exam – 50%

Primary works:

Haddon, Mark. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time. New York:

Vintage Books, 2004.  

Keyes, Daniel. “Flowers for Algernon” (1959).  Points of View: An Anthology of

Short Stories. Eds. James Moffett and Kenneth R. McElheny. New York;

Toronto: New American Library, 1966.  

Malamud, Bernard. “Idiots First” (1961). Idiots First. New York: Farrar, Straus, 1963.

Melville, Herman. “Bartleby the Scrivener” (1853). The Writings of Herman Melville

vol. 9. Chicago: Northwestern UP, 1979.   

Morrison, Toni. “Recitatif” (1983). The Norton Anthology of American Literature.

Ed. Nina Baym et al. 7^th ed. New York: Norton, 2007.

O’Connor, Flannery. “The Lame Shall Enter First” (1965). The Complete Stories.

New York: Farrar, 1971.