Assistant Professor Gaurav Jashnani Recognized for Class by and for Those Who Are Neurodivergent
Jashnani identifies as a neurodivergent scholar, as do most of the students who took the class.
Project Pericles recently featured Assistant Professor of Psychology, Africana Studies, and Social Transformation Gaurav Jashnani and his course Autism & Neurodivergence in Psychology & Disability Studies in its monthly newsletter. Launched in spring 2025, the course, which is rooted in both academic inquiry and community care, focused on perspectives on and experiences of autism and neurodivergence, centering the voices and works of BIPOC, queer, trans, women, and/or minimally speaking writers and illustrators.
Thanks to a Periclean Course Enhancement grant, Jashnani was able to work with a neurodivergency educator and consultant, who also spoke to the class as a guest lecturer. The grant also provided funding for an undergraduate teaching assistant’s stipend.
Participants in the class didn’t just learn from the readings and works produced by neurodivergent people; they used their own experiences with neurodivergence to explore and contribute to the class’s themes and lessons. “As a neurodivergent scholar and instructor working with largely neurodivergent students, the experience was rewarding beyond all expectations,” says Jashnani. “I learned to more fully trust myself and my students.”
Like many other Hampshire classes, the course called for semester-long projects designed and carried out by each student. Students presented a variety of resources, some intended for neurodivergent people as a whole, such as emotion-regulating playlists and movement workshops for autistic well-being, and others designed for neurodivergent members of the Hampshire College community, including guides to the campus.
As per usual, Hampshire students demonstrated that “to know is not enough,” producing creative yet practical, data- and research-driven contributions after a semester of learning and experimentation in community.
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