1) LINK TO BOOK:
https://criptiques.files.wordpress.com/2014/05/crip-final-2.pdf Overview: You will read a memoir written by a person who identifies as disabled/is a person with a disability. You will then write an analytical paper of 6-7 pages that discusses the memoir in engagement with ideas presented in other course readings. Please also include reflection on your own ideas and understandings related to disability and/or teaching. 2) As you read, think about
What the author(s) want you to know about them. In other words, what have they decided is important for the public to know by writing this book?;
How/why the author of your chosen book has organized their story and decided what, how, and in what order to re-tell their story;
What do you understand about disability identities and experiences from these readings;
How knowing what you know about this author shapes how you imagine teaching practice for them as an individual and as part of an inclusive classroom/school.
3) As you prepare to write, think about
These prompts are intended to help you think about how you might connect your book to other course readings for analysis. These are not required prompts and you need not address all/any of them in your writing, but I think you will find them helpful to consider the kinds of thought and writing expected in this assignment. Analyze: Consider this idea from Clandinin & Raymond (2006) on narrative inquiry: [narrative inquirers]
attend to the ways personal experiences are shaped both by the individual and by the social, cultural, and institutional narratives in which each person lives and has lived. (Clandinin & Raymond, p. 102)
Consider the ideology of ability (Danforth) and the varied orientations to disability marginalization, rehabilitation, benevolence, valuing (Hamre, Oyler, & Bejoian): How do these appear in and shape the authors story? What models of disability are evident in the memoir, and/or how can interpret the meaning of the authors experience(s) through any one or various models of disability? Draw from Mooney (Normal Sucks) to consider how ideas about normal and pathological influence the authors worldview and self-concept.
Consider the idea of counter-narrative from Myers Autobiography on the Spectrum. How might your memoir provide a counternarrative about disability? Consider the histories and diagnostic categories of disability diagnosis and labeling. How might your memoir or author illustrate or defy these histories? How does your author (either explicitly or implicitly) resist the idea that it is their body/mind that presents problems to be fixed through a medical model of diagnosis?
Consider various pieces your have watched and read how are the stories of these folks related to or in contrast with the experience in the memoir you read?
Reflect: How does reading this authors story expand, relate to, or challenge your understandings and beliefs about disability? How does reading this authors story expand, relate to, or challenge your thoughts about what it might mean to get to know students in your position as a teacher? How will you learn about our students life stories and experiences? Writing Guidelines: 1) The final assignment is a polished, analytical paper of 6-7 pages, double spaced, in a professional font. Please title your essay and organize your ideas using common conventions of academic writing (e.g., have a thesis, develop your ideas over the course of the paper, argue your points by providing examples from texts and discussing them).
2) You should use a combination of paraphrasing with citations and directly quoting with citations. Please draw from your book and from class readings. Please include a Works Cited page formatted in APA or MLA style. 3) Spend more time on your analysis and reflection and less time on summary of the book. (You can write in a way that assumes that I have read the book, therefore relying less on lengthy descriptions of content). 4) It is acceptable to use first person voice in your writing (e.g., I think, My, etc., especially in reflecting). 5) Please make sure to take the whole book and whole story into account. Some books are organized to unfold as the story goes, so analyzing only the early parts may be contradictory to what happens at the end of the book. In other words, be sure your analysis and chosen examples/quotes are not contradicted and expanded at later parts of the story in ways that call question to the merits of your analysis.
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