Module manager: Professor Angharad Beckett
Email: A.E.Beckett@leeds.ac.uk
Taught: Semester 2 (Jan to Jun) View Timetable
Year running 2025/26
| SLSP3075 | Disability and Development |
SLSP3075 Disability and Development
This module is not approved as a discovery module
This advanced module critically explores the intersections between Disability Studies, Development Studies, and Decolonial Theory, with a focus on the Majority World (often referred to as the Global South). It challenges dominant Western-centric perspectives that have shaped global disability and development discourses, aiming to decolonise these fields by centring the experiences and voices of disabled people in non-Western contexts. Rooted in critical pedagogy, the module encourages students to rethink established frameworks and develop more inclusive, culturally grounded alternatives. Students will explore the lasting impacts of colonialism on contemporary disability and development policies, while examining grassroots movements and locally-driven solutions that foreground the rights and agency of disabled people.
The Decolonising Disability and Development module is designed to encourage and enable students to critically engage with global disability and development frameworks, particularly through the lens of decolonial theory. The module emphasizes active learning, encouraging students to rethink conventional models and explore culturally grounded, inclusive alternatives that centre the experiences and perspectives of disabled people in the Majority World.
Specifically, the module aims to:
1. Challenge Dominant Narratives: encouraging students to critically evaluate traditional, Western-centric approaches to disability and development.
2. Foster Inclusive and Intersectional Approaches: equipping students with the tools to analyse the intersection of disability with factors such as gender, indigeneity and rurality.
3. Promote Ethical and Locally-Driven Development: encouraging students to explore ethical considerations in international development, focusing on the importance of community-driven, culturally sensitive solutions.
4. Enhance Critical Thinking and Application: providing students with opportunities to apply theoretical concepts to real-world case studies, fostering problem-solving skills and interdisciplinary thinking.
5. Empower Students as Global Citizens: fostering a sense of agency in students, preparing them to advocate for disability rights and inclusive development on the global stage.
Learning Activities to Achieve Aims:
To achieve these objectives, the module incorporates a range of teaching and learning strategies that encourage active engagement and critical reflection. These include lectures, seminar discussions, student led presentations and case study analyses.
On successful completion of the module students will have demonstrated the following learning outcomes relevant to the subject:
1. Critically evaluate how colonial legacies have shaped disability and development frameworks in the Majority World, using key theoretical concepts.
2. Analyse the effectiveness and limitations of international disability rights frameworks.
3. Apply intersectional and decolonial approaches to interpret the diverse experiences of disabled people in the Majority World.
4. Compare Western-centric and culturally-grounded models of disability.
5. Assess the ethics, effectiveness, and power dynamics of international aid programs for disabled people.
6. Analyse case studies of approaches to disability-inclusive development from various global regions, identifying key factors for success and challenges.
Skills Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of the module students will have demonstrated the following skills learning outcomes:
Work Ready Skills:
1. Reflection and Self-awareness: The ability to critically reflect on their own assumptions and biases regarding disability and development in the Majority World, showing growth in self-awareness throughout the module.
2. Cultural & diversity awareness: Sensitivity to and understanding of diverse cultural perspectives on disability, particularly in the context of the Majority World.
Sustainability Skills:
3. Systems thinking: The capacity to analyse the complex interrelationships between disability, development, and various social, economic and cultural systems in the Majority World.
4. Ethical reasoning: The skill to apply ethical reasoning in evaluating international aid programs and development initiatives aimed at disabled people in the Majority World.
Academic Skills:
5. Academic writing: The ability to produce well-structured, academically rigorous written work on decolonial disability studies, adhering to appropriate conventions and standards.
Details of the syllabus will be provided on the Minerva organisation (or equivalent) for the module
| Delivery type | Number | Length hours | Student hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lecture | 11 | 1 | 11 |
| Seminar | 10 | 1 | 10 |
| Independent online learning hours | 100 | ||
| Private study hours | 79 | ||
| Total Contact hours | 21 | ||
| Total hours (100hr per 10 credits) | 200 | ||
A formal formative assessment opportunity will be provided for each summative assessment task, which is specifically pedagogically aligned to that task. As part of this, each student will receive feedback designed to support the development of knowledge and skills that will be later assessed in the summative task.
| Assessment type | Notes | % of formal assessment |
|---|---|---|
| Coursework | . | 100 |
| Total percentage (Assessment Coursework) | 100 | |
Normally resits will be assessed by the same methodology as the first attempt, unless otherwise stated
Check the module area in Minerva for your reading list
Last updated: 30/01/2025
Errors, omissions, failed links etc should be notified to the Catalogue Team