A series of four blue pictograms in front of a light yellow background. Three pictograms are disability access symbols, for wheelchair accessibility, sign language interpretation, and low vision access. The fourth pictogram is of a brain, and is meant to symbolize cognitive impairment accommodations.

Disability Studies: Foundations & Key Concepts

This non-exhaustive reading list highlights some of the key debates and conceptual shifts in disability studies.
A Jewish wine cup

When Passover Meant Raisin Wine

Why did American Jews have non-alcoholic raisin "wine" with their Passover seders in the early 19th century?
A university student sitting in an auditorium

The Case for Race-Conscious Affirmative Action

Minority students in racially isolated schools have drastically less access to critical educational resources.
Two muslim women looking out over a city.

Muslim Organizing Against Domestic Violence

How the Society for Muslim Women helped victims of domestic abuse, while also promoting Kazakh culture and knowledge of Islam.
Austin Community College Fall 2017 Commencement ceremonies on Thursday, December 14, 2017 at the Frank Erwin Center.

Affirmative Action: Foundations and Key Concepts

This non-exhaustive reading list discusses the origins of affirmative action, the question of race vs. class, and the effects of meritocracy.
A person standing between bookshelves in a university library.

What Makes a Fair College Admissions Process?

In the wake of the college admissions scandal, scholars go back to the drawing board to answer this most central question.
San Diego during the 1930s and the Canal Zone in Panama

A Glimpse at Women’s Periods in the Roaring Twenties 

A 1927 study by famed efficiency expert Lillian Moller Gilbreth revealed how American women dealt with menstruation -- and how they wished they could.
Two children looking at artwork hung on the wall

Taking Children’s Art Seriously

Are children’s drawings meaningless scribbles or serious creative work? Western scholars and child psychologists have debated this topic for years.
A toddler tea party in a play house

A Sense of Place for Toddlers

Young children have a unique sense of the world that can be difficult for grown-up architects to grasp.
Brothel by Joachim Beuckelaer, 1562

Regulating Sex Work in Medieval Europe

When sex work was considered a "necessary evil," legal brothels provided certain protections for the women who worked there.