Course description

This course explores music and disability studies, inclusive music education and practice, and disability arts, among other topics. It positions disability not as deficit, but as a facet of human diversity worthy of creative exploration and appreciation. Together, we investigate what disability teaches us about satisfaction and beauty, about community and interdependence. Seeking to identify and dismantle ableism whenever we encounter it, we interrogate established and conventional artistic practices, canons, and relationships. This course very intentionally positions individuals with disabilities as experts on their identities, and privileges and prioritizes works by disabled scholars, activists, artists, educators, and students. The course aims to develop new projects and nurture ongoing initiatives that facilitate sustainable and inclusive creative practice. Together, we work directly with Cambridge Common Voices, a neurodiverse music ensemble in collaboration with Lesley University's Threshold Program, based at Harvard University. As a final project in the course, students help develop a project proposal for a Disability Cultural Center at Harvard, a hypothetical space meant to promote empowerment, exploration, appreciation, and affirmation of disability identity and culture.

Instructors

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