General Studies 420: Disability & Society

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General Studies 420: Disability & Society

Spring 2019

Assignment #5

Disability Culture Plunge Portfolio

15 points

For this assignment you are required to develop a portfolio that showcases your experience through a disability culture plunge. You will find the list of activity and event options for this semester on Blackboard. Students must use one of the pre-approved options from Blackboard in order to receive credit for this assignment. If you find an option that is not on the list, then please let us know so that we may review it and possibly add it to our list.

We strongly recommend that you plan this assignment early on in the semester. This means that you will need to contact the person in charge of the event in which you will participate (if applicable, depending on the event you choose). Some options are more structured and require appointments or reservations. And some are more casual. But the important thing is that you put this in your calendar now and plan to complete the assignment in advance.

Note: This is not community service or volunteer hours. You are not necessarily participating with a “helper” mentality. Your job is to immerse yourself into a culture with which you were previously unfamiliar, and to learn from the people of that culture.

A culture plunge can be defined as exposure to a culture that is different from our own and, in this class specifically, the culture of disability. For some of you, you may already identify as being familiar with disability culture. If so, you will need to explore an arena of disability culture that you are not as familiar with. For many of you though, this may be your first time interacting or being involved with the disability community. Either way, we are very excited to read about your experiences! It is normal for you to feel nervous, intimidated, or even fearful about this assignment, but we hope that this experience proves to be valuable and memorable and that the impact will transcend beyond your time at SDSU.

What is required for this portfolio? You will follow the guidelines below.

1. About the Organization/Activity/Event/Person

2.5 points

This portion of the assignment includes background information about the organization:

a. Name, Location, Date of Culture Plunge, website link (if applicable)

b. Contact information (i.e., website, email, and name of contact person if applicable)

c. A brief 300-word description of what you did during your time and the types of disabilities that were represented at the event.

2. Reflection

10 Points Total Please answer all 4 reflection questions to receive full points. No less than one page, double spaced, 12 pt. font response. Indicate A, B, C and D for each part of this response. Include the question and the answer to each question.

a. What were some assumptions you had before participating in your disability culture plunge activity? Explain. (Your assumptions can be positive, negative, or both.)

2.5 points

b. What was something new you learned during your culture plunge that you would like others to learn as well? Explain.

2.5 points

c. What did this experience leave you wondering about or wanting to know more about? Explain.

2.5 points

d. How might you see yourself contributing to the lives of people with disabilities now and in the future? And how might people with disabilities contribute to your life now and in the future? Explain.

2.5 points

3. 4 Photos of the event/activity with at least one of the photos, including yourself clearly at the event. Include an explanatory caption with each photo. Your photo page is not included in your minimum 1.5-page count. Photos must be placed on the next page of your paper. You must include 4 pictures on the last page.

2.5 points