Disability and a Good Life: Working with Disability

20% of the global population has a disability, which means most of us will have an experience of disability in our lives, whether it be personally, through our family and friends, or in our workplaces and communities. But what is disability? It’s often assumed that people with disabilities can’t have a good life. But what is a good life?

In this course, and its sister course Thinking through Disability, we’ll reflect on how disability is part of who we are as human beings. These courses will give you and your fellow learners the opportunity to think through and work with some of the big issues facing societies, governments and disabled people.

Work with disability

Today we recognise disability as a part of human diversity. But what does it mean to work with disability in a way that enables a good life for ourselves and others? In this course, we will explore a human rights approach to disability and examine how disability politics and policy, advocacy and activism can inform what we mean by a good life.

To begin, you’ll reflect on the meaning and significance of human diversity. As you move through the topics, you will engage with different approaches to disability by examining the concepts of inclusion, access and support. At the end of the course we will challenge you to consider how you work with disability to enable a good life for all.

Learn in a variety of ways

In this free online course, you can choose your pathway through the materials. Resources and strategies to support your learning include:

• written, audio and visual resources (transcripts and audio descriptions/files provided)
• stories from people with disabilities
• interviews with leading disability studies experts
• Talking Points to help guide online Comments
• a glossary of terms
• a Learner Guide, Mel, who will show you how she worked through the material
• an opportunity to take your learning further through activities to extend and expand your knowledge.

We encourage you to work through the course week-by-week in order to participate fully in the class discussions. However, once you enrol, materials will continue to be available to you after the course officially ends, so that you have the option to work at your own pace.

We also hope to hear from you. As we strive to improve the course and enable ease of access for all, we have multiple opportunities for you to provide feedback about the accessibility of the materials and the effectiveness of the course design.

Gain vital skills and knowledge

By the end of this course you will be able to:

• explain disability rights through an examination of the UN Convention
• understand the implications of justice, discrimination and equality in the lives of people with disabilities around the world
• engage with the debates around care, support and facilitation, and explain what these concepts look like in practice
• understand and critique key terms related to disability, such as access, inclusion and belonging
• identify different channels for working for change
• understand how a good life might be enabled for a diversity of people, including people with disabilities.