Professor: Vera Shengeliya
Semester: Spring 2024
Course Level: 300
Subject: HR
Number of Bard Credits: 1
Course Title: Disability Representation in the Cultural Institutions
Max Enrollment: 22
Schedule and dates: 10 weeks (February 15 – April 18), Thursday 5:50 – 7:10 (Berlin (UTC + 2)
Cross-Listing(s): no
Language of Instruction: Russian


The goal of this course is to investigate current changes in the societies’ perception of disability from a medical perspective to the social context and their reflection by museum collections, exhibition displays, and artwork. We will study the key tools for creating physical and digital accessibility for visitors with disabilities on cultural sites and follow representations of disability-related topics at various venues, from Cabinets of Curiosity to performances of contemporary artists with disabilities. Students will be introduced to the main ethical dilemmas in the field as well as challenged to discover and organize their own moral principles to work on this subject.

Guidelines for the Statement of Purpose:
Craft a reflective statement of purpose explaining your interest in the Smolny Beyond Borders online course. The file should be saved with your name and course title as the filename and uploaded accordingly. Your statement’s clarity and substance will significantly influence our selection. Convey your motivations and aspirations for this course succinctly but thoroughly. Kindly write your statement in the course’s Language of Instruction.

Application Portal Instructions:
1) Use the Latin alphabet for all entries on the portal, including your name. If the Language of Instruction is Russian, you may use Cyrillic only within the Statement of Purpose file, and the title of the file should still be in English.
2) Refrain from using email addresses associated with Russian or Belarusian educational institutions.
3) While completing the “Required Information” section, ensure you fill in the “Province” field for your address.
4) Provide an address outside Russia or Belarus in both the “Required Information” and “Geographic Location Confirmation” sections of the “Online Course Application”. This ensures we can send your transcript.
5) You must press the “Sign” button twice during the application.
6) If you hold a bachelor’s degree, select “4th+” in the “Academic Year (online)” section.
7) Applicants either unaffiliated or affiliated with educational institutions in Russia and Belarus should list ‘Smolny Beyond Borders’ as their educational institution.
8) In the student ID section, enter ‘SBB’.
9) Consider drafting your motivation letter ahead of time. Save it as a separate file with this format: LastName_FirstName_CourseTitle for a smoother application process.