Disability Studies
Available as a concentration
The disability studies concentration blends theory and firsthand experience to offer students a deeper, more meaningful understanding of the growing disabled population.
The concentration was designed with an interdisciplinary approach that reflects the truth that disabilities are woven into every aspect of society.
Student Experiences
A Project Based in Personal Experience
In the lab, Allyson Herriges is searching for clues to a mystery that still perplexes scientists. Using genetic analysis and quantitative polymerase chain reaction technology, she’s examining how prenatal drugs affect autism risk genes and neural development in the embryos of zebra fish.
The project, which she designed in consultation with her professors, is part of a larger question with a deeply personal significance: Can we detect autism earlier and help parents better understand their child's diagnosis?
“My son is autistic,” Herriges says. “His diagnosis is why I started studying this. I want to help parents understand their children and what their children’s diagnoses mean. There is still so much we don’t know about these conditions.” Read more
“It's been incredible to work with the professors in the disability studies concentration. They’ve given me so many new perspectives about life and advocating for people with disabilities. They’ve also given me a lot of opportunities for field experience.”
Hope Keller, health and exercise science major with a concentration in disability studies, president of the Toy Like Me student club
Advocate for Change
Olivia Brichter’s heard it all before. That her epilepsy means she has to scale back her ambitions. That her ADHD means she won’t thrive in the rigorous world of research. That her disabilities will define and control her.
She’s heard it — and she knows nothing could be further from the truth.
“It’s hurtful and disturbing when people try to tell you that,” she says. “But it’s also what fueled my fire. I have this determination in me to prove to the world that I can do the things that other, neurotypical people can.” Read more
Engaged Learning
Disability May Term Course
Roanoke offers an intensive learning term course that is designed to challenge students to understand and appreciate the challenges and abilities of disabled individuals.
Faculty
News
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Roanoke College’s Inside-Out Prison Exchange Program brought its work to the Roanoke City Adult Detention Center this semester.
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In honor of International Education Week, we talked with Maroons who were able to live and study in Argentina, Ireland, Korea, Italy and Spain — a slice of the 50+ countries around the world where Roanoke has partners.
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During a lecture at Roanoke College on Sept. 18, Steele presented his research about the impact of stereotypes and how individuals from different identity groups can make up a successfully diverse community.
Disability Studies blends theory and firsthand experience to offer students a deeper, more meaningful understanding of the growing disabled population.
The concentration was designed with an interdisciplinary approach that reflects the truth that disabilities are woven into every aspect of society. Roanoke College is at the forefront of that movement with the establishment of a dedicated disability studies program.
Through classwork, research and innovative, experiential learning, students in the concentration will learn to be better advocates who can break down not just physical barriers, but cultural barriers to equity and access.
We offer a concentration in Disability Studies.