Course Materials

Professor Gail Dubrow first floated the idea of a course along the lines of Disability Justice and Cultural Heritage in 2019, as REPAIR’s founding trio began their deep dive into disability studies, disability justice, and corresponding radical historic preservation work. At the time, none of us could envision how further learning would shape our project’s direction, but, being game for a challenge, we embraced the potential for what a course focused on disability’s intersection with public history could bring to the university.

The course developed in tandem with our learning trajectory, growing and evolving as we learned together. Changing our course’s title became a kind of shorthand, reflecting how things we read together and conversations we had shifted our collective priorities.

Initially, the plan was to run the course for the first time in 2020. Due to the first U.S. shutdown in response to the pandemic, we decided to postpone. The decision, although a difficult one at the time, proved to be unexpectedly beneficial. The additional time allowed us to craft the syllabus with greater care, read more widely, think more creatively, and meet collaborators who are now core members of REPAIR’s team. When the course ran in 2021, enrolling students from University of Minnesota - Twin Cities, and University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee and -Madison (and with a partnered course at University of Oregon - Portland), we were excited to bring the course to students.

Are there things we’d change about the course now, with the benefit of hindsight? Yes, absolutely. Do we hope that the course’s framework, pedagogical approach, or content will continue to be helpful to interested learners, committed practitioners, and seasoned professionals alike? Also yes. It is in that spirit that we offer our open-access syllabus, as a reflection of what we’ve learned and how we shared that knowledge and curiosity with others.