The Atlanta, Ga-based Emory University’s Digital Scholarship Commons (DiSC) recently announced that it will host a Symposium on Disability Technology April 6. According to an Emory news release, the symposium will target universal access, the construction of spaces, teaching practices and web environments designed to enable equal participation by all. The symposium’s sessions will also address the relationship between culture and technology and their effect on society as a whole.

The release adds that the symposium will center on the effects of various innovations in technology on individuals with disabilities and those without. Roger Whitson, Mellon postdoctoral fellow with DiSC is serving as the event’s organizer. “Digital humanities scholars talk about access, but rarely do they really question how technology impacts the social and cultural lives of people with disabilities,” Whitson says, adding, “We’ve invited people who work with technology to talk with scholars who disability studies, or the study of cultural and historical aspects of disability.”

The symposium will reportedly feature two addresses by keynote speakers Michael Chorost, an award-winning author and technologist, and Emory professor Rosemarie Garland-Thomson, known for her work in the field of humanities and disability studies. Additionally, attendees will be provided with the opportunity to attend three panels focused on the real-world applications of disability studies to the lived experience of individuals with physical impairments. The individuals slated to head up the panels include Katy Crowther, Margaret Price, Leanne West, George H. Williams, and Melanie Yergeau.

According to the news release, the first of these panels will include a discussion encompassing the impact of digital technology on individuals with autism and mental disabilities. The second panel is designed to address disabilities in the classroom setting and different methods that every teacher can implement in order to create a classroom environment that is universally accessible. Rounding out the panels, the third will offer attendees a focus on assistive technology developed at Georgia Tech and the complexities of developing these types of technologies.

The release notes that while admission for the event is free, registration is required. 

To register, click here.

For more information visit http://www.emory.edu

Source: Emory University