Perspectives is the newsletter of the Stanford course,
Perspectives in Assistive Technology.

Bionic Ears: Cochlear Implants and the Future of Assistive Technology

This issue invites you to attend the next class session
and encourages your participation in the course's Assistive Technology Faire.

Course News

Assistive Technology Faire - The Faire now has a record number of participants, most recently including Humm Edge, Travonde, and The Easy Easel.

Do you have a suggestion for a film about disabilty and assistive technology? - I am looking for suggestions for a film to screen on Tuesday, March 5th during classtime. The film must not be over 60 minutes in length and must be available on DVD for no or low cost.

Next class session - Tuesday, February 5th at 4:30pm

Abstract: "In this talk, I will share my personal experience as a user with cochlear implants, and discuss the history and future of this device's development. Introducing historian of science and technology Mara Mills' term "bionic rhetoric," I will explain how the cochlear implant negotiates two different strains of thinking in assistive technology design: normalization and enhancement. My talk will conclude with a discussion of how this rhetoric gets metabolized in literary and popular discourse, and how these narratives illuminate how people with disabilities use - and even hack - their assistive technologies."

Biosketch: Lindsey Dolich Felt is a lecturer in the Program in Writing and Rhetoric at Stanford University. She received her PhD in English from Stanford University in 2016, and holds a BA from Haverford College. Before coming to Stanford, she worked as a journalist for ESPN the Magazine and ESPN.com.

Her research interests include contemporary American literature, media culture, science fiction, science and technology studies, and disability studies. She is currently researching how disabled bodies crucially shaped conceptions of electronic communication in the post-WWII era, and has written articles on female hackers in Cyberpunk fiction, and the little known history of the first cybernetic limb and its influence on communication engineering in the early Cold War era.

Her course, "The New Normal: The Rhetoric of Disability" explores how advances in science, technology, medicine, and culture have transformed our understanding of disability, normalcy, and health.

You are invited to attend this and all other class sessions - Class sessions will be held on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 4:30 to 5:50pm until Thursday, March 14th and are open to the greater Stanford community. You need not be a Stanford student to attend, no signup is required, and there is no charge.

New classroom! - The course will be held in classroom 282 in the Lathrop Library located at the corner of Lasuen Mall and Serra Mall, adjacent to Memorial Auditorium and the Oval. It seats as many as 150 people in a flexible and accessible space. Here is a webpage with maps, directions, and photos.

You are invited to participate in the Assistive Technology Faire - This seventh annual course event will provide an opportunity for students and community members to get an up-close look at a variety of assistive technology devices and learn about available services. Users of assistive technology products as well as small companies and agencies serving individuals with disabilities and older adults are encouraged to bring assistive technology devices and information to display, demonstrate, and discuss. Please browse to the Call for Assistive Technology Faire Participants webpage and contact me if you would like to be a part of this event as a user or vendor of assistive technology products or services. Everyone is welcome to attend the Faire. The Faire will start at 4:30pm on Thursday, February 28th in the Lathrop Library, Classroom 282. Here are my photos from last year's Faire.

Other

Support the course - Funding in any amount for the course and student projects is always welcomed. Monetary gifts support approved project expenses, administrative costs, honoraria for guest lecturers, and the end-of-term celebration. Refer to the Course and Project Support webpage for more information.

Email questions, comments, or suggestions - Please email me if you have general questions, comments, or suggestions regarding the course. Thank you again for your interest.

Dave