HECOL 493/550 Exploring Disability through Material Culture (*3)

Instructors

Spring 2012

Dr. Patrick Devlieger, Adjunct Professor in the Department of Human Ecology & Visiting Professor from KULeuven, Belgium Dr. Megan Strickfaden, Department of Human Ecology

Instructors Contact Hours

Monday through Friday 9:00 to 12:00 May 07-25, 2012 HEB 301

Course Description
Students will be confronted in this course with the concept of disability from a variety of different perspectives. Explorations and in-depth analysis of the relationships among people, objects and the built environment are the focus. Course content includes engaging in readings, life story accounts from actual people, representation of disability through film, and more.

Background
Aspects of local and global cultural knowledge, and discourse around key issues in disability studies are examined in this course on material culture and disability studies. Some of the questions explored are: - How can disability be defined in terms of culture and society? - How is disability experienced in various societies and cultures? - Can one think of disability in other than medical terms? - What is the history of the ways in which societies have dealt with people with disabilities? - How is disability reflected through material culture and how do people with disabilities engage with the human-made world?

Goals & Objectives

The main goals of the course are (1) to familiarize students with the range of topics that engage in the culture-disability interface; (2) to engage students in relevant contemporary research in disability studies; and (3) to assist students with deepening out a topic that integrates material culture and disability studies. Five core themes will be covered in this course including: 1) concepts in disability studies; 2) family & community relations; 3) technology & the body; 4) disability culture, transnationalism & migration; 5) sensory anthropology, disability & travel. Upon completion of this course students will be able to: - Identify the main theoretical approaches and relevant literature to support research in disability studies connected to material culture; - Identify major methodological approaches in the study of disability; - Critically assess differing approaches to disability studies; - Reflected on personal preconceptions and assumptions; - Begun to explore and evaluate concepts in issues that intercept within design studies and material culture.

Instructional & Learning Strategies

This course is conducted as a tutorial-type seminar that involves considerable one-to-one discussion and small group collaboration. Teaching strategies may involve lectures (including guests), discussion (group & one-to-one), and demonstrations. Learning strategies are dependent on active participation that involve formal and informal student presentations, active questioning, critical analysis, personal reflection and practical application.

Required Readings
Anna-Stina with French, S. & Swain, J. (2008) In Practice from the Viewpoint of a Physiotherapist in Swain, J. & French, S. Disability on Equal Terms. Los Angeles: Sage Publications. 150-155. Blume, S. (2011) Deaf Communities and the Cochlear Implant in Latin America: A Preliminary Inquiry. Ethnographica Journal on Culture and Disability 1(1), 1-11. Classen, C. A feel for the world: Lessons in aesthetics from the blind. In The Color of Angels: Cosmology, Gender, and the Aesthetic Imagination. London: Routledge. * Devlieger, P., F. Rusch, & D. Pfeiffer, eds. (2003) Rethinking Disability: The Emergence of New Definitions, Concepts and Communities. Antwerpen: Garant. Devlieger, P., & Strickfaden, M. (2012). Reversing the (im)material Sense of a Non-place: The Impact of Blindness on the Brussels Metro. Space and Culture, 15 (3). (in press accepted April 2012) Jasvinder, Arlene, Geoff & Alice (2008) Disabled Peoples Testimonies in Swain, J. & French, S. Disability on Equal Terms. Los Angeles: Sage Publications. 115-126. MacDonald, A. (2003) Humanising Technology in Clarkson, J., Coleman, R., Keates, S. & Lebbon, C. Inclusive Design: Design for the Whole Population. London: Springer.182-203. Mellaerts, D. (2006) Hearing, Smelling, Touching and Moving as an Alternative Way of Beholding: A Practical Survey of Historic Monuments and Sites in the City of Leuven in Devlieger, P., Renders,, F., Froyen, H. and Wildiers, K. (Eds). (2006). Blindness and the Multi-Sensorial City. Antwerpen: Garant. 273-285. Sacks, O. (2005) The Minds Eye: What the Blind See in Howes, D. Empire of the Senses: The Sensual Culture Reader. Oxford: Berg. 25-42. Sobchack, V. (2006) A Leg to Stand On: Prosthetics, Metaphor, and Materiality in Smith, M. & Morra, J. The Prosthetic Impulse: From A Posthuman Present to a Biocultural Future . Cambridge Massachusets: The MIT Press.17-41. Taylor, M. (2008) Disabled in Image and Language in Swain, J. & French, S. Disability on Equal Terms. Los Angeles: Sage Publications. 31-41. Wolbring, G. (2008) The Politics of Ableism. Development. 51, 252-258. * Textbook available for purchase in SUB bookstore.

Additional Readings
Ingstad, Benedicte & Reynolds Whyte, Susan (eds.) (2007) Disability in Local and Global Worlds. Berkeley: University of California Press. McDermott, R. & Varenne, H. (1995) Culture as Disability. Anthropology and Education. 26, 323-348. http://serendip.brynmawr.edu/sci_cult/culturedisability.html Pallasmaa, Juhani. (2005). The Eyes of the Skin: Architecture and the Senses. England: John Wiley & Sons. Strickfaden, M. and Devlieger, P. (2011). The Brussels Metro: Accessibility through Co -creation. International Journal of Visual Impairment and Blindness. Oct/Nov, 638-647. Strickfaden, M. & Devlieger, P. (2011). Empathy through Accumulating Techn: Designing an Accessible Metro. The Design Journal. Special Edition on Design Empathy. 14(2). 207-229. Strickfaden, M. & Vildieu, A. (2011). Questioning communication in tactile representation. Include 2011. Helen Hamlyn Centre, Royal College of Art, London, 18-20 April 2011.

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Possible Film, Audio & Exhibitions

Infocus: Blind Photographers Challenge Visual Expectations Exhbition Rutherford South (Library) May 3-20, 2012 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JQ0iMulicgg TED talk (10 minutes) A talk done by Aimee Mullins on the design of innovative designs in prosthetics (artificial limbs). http://enroute.aircanada.com/en/articles/truman-s-world Trumans World (9 minutes) Directed by Andrew Korogyi 2010 A short documentary on Truman Klavers, an 8-year old with Asperger Syndrome. http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5165123 A Conversation with Temple Grandin (35 minutes) National Public Radio (NPR) 2006 A radio interview with animal scientist Temple Grandin says autism helps her see things as animals do. Grandin talks about her work designing humane slaughter systems for animals, and her unique way of looking at the world. Beyond Borders (Van Meirhaeghe) (for trailer see: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HVNYXoDTgR4) Part of the Game (Devlieger) Gimp Boot Camp (Peers) Le Pays des Sourds (Philibert) (see : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=75449ZfHOKs)

Requirements
Participation: i. Involvement in the course materials based on attendance, preparedness & active participation Critical Summaries of literature, films, guest lecturers i. Critical review of a supplied manuscript or book chapter ii. Prepared written summary (best 8 of 10 during the duration of the course) Final deliverables: i. Abstract ii. Essay (manuscript)

Course Content & Deliverables

Participation Critical summaries Abstract Draft of essay Final written abstract, essay 10% 40% 10% 10% 30%

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Proposed schedule* 9:00 to 12:00 Day 1: May 7 TOPIC Introductions Concepts in Disability Studies READINGS & DELIVERABLES Taking Notes Doing Critical Summaries Jasvinder, Arlene, Geoff & Alice Participation Day 2: May 8 Concepts in Disability Studies Devlieger in textbook (introduction) Devlieger in textbook Taylor Participation Summary due Day 3: May 9 Family & Community Relations Albrecht in textbook Ferguson in textbook Participation Summary due Day 4: May 10 Family & Community Relations Gold in textbook Anna-Stina with French & Swain Participation Summary due Day 5: May 11 Disability Culture, Transnationalism & Migration Blume Wolbring Participation Summary due Day 6: May 14 Disability Culture, Transnationalism & Migration Sensory Anthropology, Disability & Travel Participation Summary due Sacks Mellaerts Participation Summary due Day 8: May 16 Sensory Anthropology, Disability & Travel Devlieger & Strickfaden Participation Summary due MacDonald Sobchack Participation Summary due Day 10: May 18 Technology & the Body Participation Summary due

Day 7: May 15

Day 9: May 17

Technology & the Body

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May 21 Day 11: May 22 Day 12: May 23 Day 13: May 24 Day 14: May 25

Victoria Day Discussions & Tutorials Discussions & Tutorials Tutorials Hand-in all course materials

No class Participation Participation Participation Final deliverables due

*Note: The above Schedule may be altered at the discretion of the instructors. Any changes will be announced in advance for your convenience. Final notes: 1. Course outlines "Policy about course outlines can be found in Section 23.4(2) of the University Calendar." 2. Late or absent Please contact your instructor in advance if you miss a class. You are responsible for obtaining all missed materials from classmates unless prior arrangements have been made. It is to your benefit to submit a Doctors note when you have been absent due to illness. 3. Contacting the instructor Email is best. You can contact your instructor regarding special needs, questions about projects and lectures, grades and comments, absences and lates. I will not respond to questions about information that has previously been provided in writing ( e.g., in this syllabus, in handouts) unless it is to clarify a misunderstanding. Any questions regarding grades and comments must be addressed in a timely manner by making an appointment to meet. At all times you must use your U of A email address, provide your full first & last names, and indicate HECOL 493/550 in the subject line of your email. If the message is urgent please indicate this in the subject line along with your course number. Non-urgent emails will generally be answered within a day. Emails sent on the weekend may not be answered until the following week. 4. Returning project grades Generally grades and comments on projects will be returned within several days following your submission. 5. Code of student behaviour Please familiarize yourself with this code at <http://www.uofaweb.ualberta.ca/secretariat/>. The code is also available in hard copy from the University Secretariat 2-5 University Hall phone 492.4965. All students are required to be familiar with the code 30.3.2. 6. Intellectual honesty, plagiarism and cheating Intellectual honesty is expected in all your academic work including written, visual and constructed materials completed in this course. This means you must acknowledge ideas, information and statements that are not your own. This includes materials discussed by your instructor and peers, information found on the internet and in magazines, periodicals, journals and books. Plagiarism, cheating and misrepresentation of facts are offences that are viewed as serious breaches of academic conduct. Students are particularly urged to familiarize themselves with the provisions of the Code of Student Behaviour (online at www.uofaweb.ualberta.ca/secretariat/studentappeals.cfm) and avoid any behaviour that could potentially result in suspicions of cheating, plagiarism, misrepresentation of facts and/or participation in an offence. Academic dishonesty is a serious offence and can result in suspension or expulsion from the University."The Campus Law Review Committee (CLRC) of the General Faculties Council maintains the right to reprimand, suspend or expel those individuals involved in such offences. Note the following: 30.3.2 (1) Plagiarism No Student shall submit the words, ideas, images or data of another persons as the Students own in any academic writing, essay, thesis, project, assignment, presentation or poster in a course or program of study.

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30.3.2(2) Cheating No Student shall in the course of an examination or other similar activity, obtain or attempt to obtain information from another Student or other unauthorized source, give or attempt to give information to another Student, or use, attempt to use or possess for the purposes of use any unauthorized material. No Student shall represent or attempt to represent him or herself as another or have or attempt to have himself or herself represented by another in the taking of an examination, preparation of a paper or other similar activity. See also misinterpretation in 30.3.6 (4). No Student shall represent anothers substantial editorial or compositional assistance on an assignment as the Students own work. No Student shall submit in any course or program of study, without the written approval of the course Instructor, all or a substantial portion of any academic writing, essay, thesis, research report, project, assignment, presentation of poster for which credit has previously been obtained by the Student or which has been or is being submitted by the Student in another course of program of study in the University or elsewhere. No Student shall submit in any course or program of study any academic writing, essay, thesis, report, project, assignment, presentation or poster containing a statement of fact known by the Student to be false or a reference to a source the Student knows to contain fabricated claims (unless acknowledged by the Student), or a fabricated reference to a source.

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