TOPICS: NEURODIVERSITY AND IDENTITY in Spring 2023 (PY1091A)

This course introduces students to the concept of “neurodiversity”. First, we will examine the roots of the neurodiversity movement in autistic self-advocacy, online activism, and its eventual expansion to include other neurodevelopmental and mental health conditions. We will then develop an understanding of the movement's relationship to fundamental research on neuropsychological development, clinical practice, and community advocacy. Students will learn about ecological conceptions of neurological difference, and the contribution these have made in the development of social and political categories such as 'neurotypes', 'neuro-identities' and 'neuro-genders'. The course considers the intersectionality of "neurodivergence" with gender, sexuality, culture, age, race, and socioeconomic status. It aims to provide students with tools to develop their own critical thinking on the mobilization of neuroscience and neuropsychology in recent discourse on diversity and inclusion.