Spring 2018 Syllabus

STS 3284: Technology and Disability – CRN: 20072

STS 5424: Topics in STS: Technology and Disability – CRN: 20198

Spring 2018 – Tuesdays & Thursdays 2:00-3:15pm in Goodwin 241

Description: This graduate and undergraduate course is designed to introduce students to the material cultures surrounding disability, the social meaning of “health” technologies, and the lived experiences of those who deploy, resist, and wrestle with technologies aimed at their bodies and minds.

Having successfully completed this course, undergraduate students will be able to:

Identify landmarks in the history of technologies for disabilities
Understand the social and medical models of disability and how those play into technological design
Recognize and critique common narratives and assumptions about technology and disability
Analyze the relationship between disability studies and engineering orientations of disability
Discuss contemporary issues and controversies about technologies for disability communities
Identify and defend the voices of disabled people in the context of policy and engineering
Recognize ableism in social narratives about technology and disability

Graduate students will be able to:

Recognize and evaluate models of disability
Problematize the relationship between people (all people) and “helpful” technologies
Critique the way “assistive” technologies are represented
Challenge common assumptions about what counts as disabled and nondisabled, normal and pathological, and therapy and enhancement
Understand the problems with disability simulations
Consider their own use of technologies in their daily lives
Identify common threads between disability studies and cyborg studies
Show how materiality (“the thinginess of things”) plays into our experiences

This course will be “hands-on, minds-on.” We will “play” with different technologies, visit labs on campus that work on bionics and other assistive tech, speak with practitioners, and hear from users of the technologies we track. Students will also play an active role in the development of classroom content, leading class in discussion, presenting on individual technology projects, and engaging with literature on their selected topics.

Specific topics include:

Cochlear ear implants and hearing aids
Prosthetic arms and legs
Text-to-speech interfaces
Apps for ipads aimed at a people with disabilities
Closed captioning
ADA specifications
Mobility aids (wheelchairs, crutches, scooters, canes)
Other technologies as incorporated by student projects – up to student choice

We will pay close attention to the historical and social contexts within which technologies are aimed at disabilities, resistance to and acceptance of technologies, and identity and passing in the context of technologies.

Access Statement:

Please let me know how we can work together set the class up to enable you to participate fully, access all materials, and succeed. If you will be missing a number of classes for illness, religious holidays, sportsball participation, or other issues, please let me know in advance when possible. I’m happy to meet individually with students to talk about how I can best support their learning and engagement, including different font choices, text-to-speech interfacing, and space and format considerations. If you’d like to register with Services for Students with Disabilities, please see their website: SSD Website

Values Statement:

Please abide by both the Virginia Tech Honor Code and Virginia Tech’s Principles of Community. Information about the Honor Code can be found for graduate students at GRADUATE HONOR SYSTEM WEBSITE and for undergraduate students at Honor System Website. Virginia Tech’s Principles of Community can be found at Inclusive VT Website.

Required Statement:

The Undergraduate Honor Code pledge that each member of the university community agrees to abide by states: “As a Hokie, I will conduct myself with honor and integrity at all times. I will not lie, cheat, or steal, nor will I accept the actions of those who do.” Students enrolled in this course are responsible for abiding by the Honor Code. A student who has doubts about how the Honor Code applies to any assignment is responsible for obtaining specific guidance from the course instructor before submitting the assignment for evaluation. Ignorance of the rules does not exclude any member of the University community from the requirements and expectations of the Honor Code. For additional information about the Honor Code, please visit: Honor System Website

Grading: Choose Your Own Adventure Grading System

Please assign some of the following work to yourself by choosing from the following menu and getting it approved with your instructor; please submit these on Canvas. Individual grading proposals will include a breakdown that adds to 100 points for undergraduates and 120 points for graduate students. I will accept and approve these on a rolling basis, but please turn in your Adventure Plan by February 12 at the very latest; plans will be approved or renegotiated by the end of February. You can do two of the same assignment where feasible. If you encounter difficulties that you want to talk through or want to renegotiate after February, please contact your instructor ASAP.

Please set deadlines for yourself on when you will turn in these items in your CYO Adventure Plan.

Individual Topic Projects (40) or Group Topic Projects (40): Topic projects involve research on a topic or theme. Projects may be individual or group (or you can do one of each). Pick a technology and follow its history or how it is con temporarily depicted; what is the story of some technology or object aimed at disability? Students will present on these topics. Please include two dates on which you would be willing to present on this topic. You are welcome to work in teams, but that is not required.
Traditional Research Paper (40): Please turn in topics for your papers for approval by mid-semester. Research papers should either argue for some point or demonstrate some idea. 4,000-6,000 words.
Opinion/Editorial (20): Write an Op-Ed Style article that stakes a position on some item of policy or politics about disability, technology, or health. Get topic approval first.
Unit Development (40): Students are asked to choose a technology and disability not represented on our syllabus and develop a class unit on the topic. What readings or resources would you select? What are key points to bring forward in class? What questions would prompt discussion? I would expect 3-5 pages of notes on how you might pitch a unit on the technology & disability you’ve chosen. You will be expected to share your unit with the class during the presentation weeks at the end of the semester. [This would be great for a graduate student to have at the ready if they intend to go on the academic job market.]
Webpage Content Development (40): For each unit of class, students develop content for the class website, summarizing the key issues surrounding an individual technology and disability. For instance, when we talk about cochlear implants and deafness, students engaged in this assignment will explain perspectives on the issue and relevant social, historical, and medical details. Students who choose this project would work collaboratively.
ADA Campus Survey (40): Mike from the ADA office will be showing us how to measure bathrooms to ADA specifications, as well as some other facets of the law. Students completing this assignment will pick an area of campus to measure and do a survey of the area; students will then prepare a report of their findings to share with the class.
Engaged Participation (20): This is a participation grade, which you are welcome to include in your Adventure Plan. Participation isn’t simply attendance; participation can be reflected in your engagement with topics, your questions about a topic, and your attentiveness during field trips and speaker visits. At different points, I will solicit questions from class members to prepare ahead of speakers, ask for feedback on topics, and more. These participatory activities fit into this assignment.
News and Events (20): Students choosing this item will keep us abreast of any breaking disability news during the course of the semester. We will consult with them at the beginning of class every Tuesday.
Create Your Own (?): I’ve had people make comic strips, make youtube videos explaining concepts for general audiences, review a scholarly book for an academic journal, and more. For Create Your Own, please propose something you’d like to make, write, act, build, or do, and please tell me how much of your grade you think it should be worth.
Every class member will tell us about their projects, research, funky piece of create-your-own, etc. during the last few class meetings.