Disfigurement: Understanding Visible Difference

This is a class that uses narrative activism to advance awareness of populations affected by disfigurement--including burn survivors, victims of violences, and people with congenital differences--particularly in terms of their lived experience. We will begin with the concept of “Facial Justice” to explore internalized ableism and beauty standards in a neoliberal age. We will study screen and media representation of people with disfigurement, who are often cast as “evil” in movies, as well as the neuroscience behind human reactions to disfigurement. Our work will also investigate interventions in treatment and community building for people with visible
differences. Guest lectures from people the disfigurement community with Q&A will be part of our class research, including Sora Kasuga, a circus performer, who discusses survival skills in the entertainment industry and mental health, Lise DeGuire, who will discuss her award winning memoir Flashback Girl, and Jaz Grey, an influential speaker in disability studies.