SPE1008 Disability and Society

    • Number of credits
      15
    • Teaching semester
      2026 Spring
    • Language of instruction
      English
    • Campus
      Lillehammer
    • Required prerequisite knowledge

      Recommended prerequisites: One year or 30 ECTS credits of studies within the field of pedagogics, Social Sciences etc. 

Course content
  • This course provides an overview of how disability as an internationally debated concept has been constructed around different areas; impairment, gender, sex, ethnicity, socio-economic background etc.
  • This is related to different perspectives such as human rights, diversity and sustainability.
  • It focuses on social ideologies, structural forces, power, cultural systems, and societal arrangements that have shaped the meaning and experience of disability.

Learning Outcome

Students who complete the course will gain the following learning outcome:

Knowledge

Student

  • has knowledge about different constructions of disability and disability identity, as well as critical perspectives regarding predominant understandings of disability
  • has knowledge about mechanisms and structures of inclusion and exclusion faced by individuals in relation to participation in different areas of society and social life
  • can distinguish between stigmatisation, discrimination and anti-discrimination
  • has insight into different perspectives such as human rights, diversity and sustainability
Skills

Student

  • to critically engage in debates concerning the role of impairment/body related and mental aspects in defining disability
  • can identify barriers to participation in various contexts of life, e.g., education; work; living/housing, culture, sport
  • understand disability in a broader context such as gender, class and ethnicity (incl. intersectionality perspective)
General competence

Student

  • be able to follow an international academic course at the university level
  • be able to have an academic presentation in English
  • has the ability to develop a literature review to an international audience
Teaching and working methods
  • Lectures
  • Seminar work
  • Group work
  • Oral presentations
  • Literature studies
Required coursework
  • One individual written literature review 
  • One individual oral presentation of the literature review, presented in groups
  • 75% attendance in seminars
Form of assessment

Individual oral examination

The student will be evaluated on a grade scale from A-F, where A is the best and E is the lowest passing grade.

Assessments
Form of assessmentGrading scaleGroupingDuration of assessmentSupport materialsProportionComment
Oral examination
ECTS - A-F
Individual
  • All

Reading list

Faculty
Faculty of Education