Video transcript: Studying MSc Disability Studies, Rights and Inclusion

Transcript for the video embedded across the MSc Disability Studies Rights and Inclusion, PGCert Disability Studies Rights and Inclusion and PGDip Disability Studies Rights and Inclusion pages.

(Logo on screen, University of Leeds. Dr Hannah Morgan smiles to the camera.) 

Hannah: I'm Dr. Hannah Morgan, and I'm the programme lead for the MSc in Disability Studies, Rights and Inclusion.  

(As Hannah speaks, a young woman with a prosthetic leg sits on a sofa, typing on her laptop. Two students, with documents on their laps, have a conversation using British Sign Language.) 

Hannah: Leeds is launching this online course because there are over a billion disabled people globally, and this is a number that's going to grow over time.   

(Professor Roger Slee, joint director of the Centre for Disability Studies speaks to the camera in an empty auditorium, alongside clips of students chatting and a disabled student using a computer.) 

Roger: Disabled people continue to experience oppression in their daily lives, and this course does something to respond to those oppressions.   

 (Professor Karen Throsby, Head of the School of Sociology and Social Policy, speaks to the camera. As she does, a smiling student in a wheelchair enters a spacious study area and inspects a textbook with a fellow student.) 

Karen: This course is important to the school because it gives us an opportunity to bring together the expertise that we have in the school in disability studies, and then to create a global community of students to come together to work on these issues that have never been more important than they are right now.   

(Matt Cornock, Head of Online Learning, speaks from a bright, airy study area, decorated with greenery. As he does, a student with a prosthetic left forearm conducts an online meeting, with a sandwich and coffee by her side. Elsewhere, a visually impaired student sits at a computer, using a braille keypad.) 

Matt: One of the main benefits of learning online is the flexibility it offers you, allowing you to study alongside work and other life commitments. We've created this course with accessibility at its core. You'll find that all videos have transcripts and captions and all of the course materials are in an accessible format. You'll be learning with other students from all around the world, bringing their specialist knowledge, different backgrounds, and professional expertise.  

(Several students are shown engaging in online learning, including a woman in a wheelchair with a head-mounted microphone who is conducting an online meeting. As she does this, Research Fellow Dr Miro Griffith speaks from a book-lined office. He is seated in a wheelchair with a headrest. A student with a hearing aid takes part in an online meeting and other students conduct group discussion.)  

Miro: It’s really important that we recognise that barriers and restrictions are unnecessary. The online learning approach is a way of saying we can consider what other possibilities that we need to create to allow people to be valued, and welcomed and recognise that they do have a part in learning.  

(Professor Karen Throsby. As she speaks, students engage digitally from a variety of settings, including a kitchen and a living room sofa. A politician speaks to a conference, against a backdrop of international flags. She is applauded. Elsewhere, a home-made banner reads ‘No Justice, No Peace’, alongside a CND logo and the scales of justice.) 

Karen: I'm excited about the launch of this course because it's a new departure for us in terms of using the digital domain to reach a much wider student audience, but also to make connections with people from outside the university, from NGOs, from policymakers and to really expand our horizons in our work in disability studies.   

 (As Dr Miro Griffith speaks to camera, students engage in online learning from their homes.) 

Miro: The course is very innovative because it provides an opportunity to bring together researchers and academics and communities of individuals who are focused and engaged on the topic of disability.  

(Voice of Dr Hannah Morgan. She works at her laptop, making notes in a journal by her side.) 

Hannah: Key themes of the course are informed by the ideas and priorities of the disabled people's movement. We pay particular attention to the voices and aspirations of disabled people and of how we can create communities and practices to enable disabled people to flourish.   

(As Professor Roger Slee speaks, a student conducts an online meeting using BSL. Another student is shown making notes at her desk at home.) 

Roger: It really is a course that responds to the presence of ableism in everyday lives of people.  

(As Dr Hannah Morgan speaks from a lecture theatre, a woman illustrates statistical data to her colleagues, who are seated round a circular table in a modern office.) 

Hannah: Graduates are well placed to begin or continue careers in government and the sector organisations nationally and globally. There are also opportunities to progress into PhD and other further forms of study.   

(As Matt Cornock speaks, we see the smiling faces of Professor Roger Slee, Dr Hannah Morgan and Professor Karen Throsby, as well as numerous students, some of whom are themselves disabled, studying in their homes and cafes. Students mill around the steepled, leafy grounds of the University of Leeds.) 

Matt: You'll also be supported by specialists in disability services and our online dedicated student education service team. You'll be challenged, you'll be inspired, and you'll be equipped to make a difference.    

(Text on screen: Disability Studies, Rights and Inclusion. Find out more at essl.leeds.ac.uk/sociology-masters. Logo, University of Leeds.)