Disabled Bodies & the Technological Imagination
ODU's Institute for Ethics and Public Affairs (IEPA) presents:
"WE CAN REBUILD YOU: Disabled bodies and technological imagination”
Dr. Ashley Shew, Assistant Professor, STS, Virginia Tech
Abstract: Disabled people are oftentimes the first testing grounds for new tech, and many technologies developed for disabled people become widely used. However, communities of disability challenge common narratives about technology and disrupt common tropes about how to treat disability. A quick glance through social media might give you the impression that bionic technologies, from wearables to implantables, are set to radically alter life in the very near future. The media discusses these technologies as "game-changers." This talk contrasts popular discourse about technologies for disabilities against lived experience, with particular attention paid to prosthetic technologies for limb amputees and exoskeletons for people with spinal cord injuries, the social pressure to walk, and pop culture and journalistic coverage of Para-Olympians, “Dancing with the Stars” contestants, and more. This talk highlights tensions between authenticity and enhancement, disability and superability, being fixed and being okay with oneself.
Pleaes join us on Feb. 4 from 7:00–8:30 p.m.
Learning Commons @ Perry Library—L1310/11
Old Dominion University is committed to ensuring equal access to all participants. If you require special accommodations for this event, please contact the sponsoring office prior to the event date so arrangements can be made.
rebuild_2-16 (2).pdf (60 KB)
Posted By: Yvette Pearson
Date: Thu Jan 28 10:19:37 EST 2016