Beth Robertson, Research Associate / Sessional Lecturer, Carleton University
Proposal Type
Roundtable
Seeking
- Seeking Additional Presenters
Related Topics
- Civic Engagement
- Inclusion
- Museums/Exhibits
Abstract
This roundtable seeks to stimulate dialogue between public historians, activists and academics invested in and with past experience in researching, designing and developing virtual and physical exhibits on the history of disability that are both accessible and built upon strong community engagement.
Description
This roundtable seeks to gather together public historians, activists and academics invested in and with past experience in researching, designing and developing virtual and physical exhibits on the history of disability that are both accessible and built upon strong community engagement. The purpose of the roundtable is to stimulate conversation and further questions on best practices, challenges and future directions in terms of amplifying the underrepresented voices from the disability community to shape and contribute to new historical narratives that take account of different abilities and embodiments within a predominantly disabling society.
If you have a direct offer of assistance, sensitive criticism, or wish to pass along someone’s contact information confidentially, please get in contact directly: Beth Robertson, [email protected]
If you have general ideas or feedback to share, please feel free to use the comments feature below.
Hi Beth-
I think this is a great idea for roundtable. I would recommend that you get in touch with Catherine Kudlick, the Director of the Paul K. Longmore Institute on Disability. The Longmore Institute put together an exhibit called Patient No More a few years ago about the Section 504 sit-ins. The project team built accessibility into their planning process from day one and I really think it is a model for how exhibitions should be planned and executed. I would love to hear more about the exhibition team’s process, who was involved, and what they learned along the way.
Dr. Kudlick’’s email address is [email protected].
Elsewhere in this Proposals list, Perri Melden suggests exploring the depiction of disability at National Parks Service sites. I wonder if you two might join forces?
Apologies for the typo: “Meldon”
Hi Beth,
I love your proposal and would be interested in working with you toward a roundtable. I currently serve as an intern with the National Park Service Cultural Resources Office of Interpretation and Education in DC. My task is to compose a series of webpages for the NPS about disability history, as depicted by National Historic Sites and NHLs (will hopefully launch by fall 2017). As I hone my formal proposal, I plan to select a couple of sites to focus on, most likely in the Northeast region and how they interpret their disability histories into the larger narrative of their site.
I see Heather Heckler suggested you contact Catherine Kudlick. I am familiar with Dr. Kudlick, as well as a number of SMEs I plan to reach out to when constructing these disability history website for the NPS.
Would be happy to talk with you further about this via email! Feel free to contact me at [email protected]
I would be interested in attending a panel on this topic. I think it would be well received at NCPH. This might not be at all helpful to you, and I am not that familiar with this area, but I know that Katherine Ott, a curator at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History, has curated exhibitions on Disability and done a lot of work in this area. I don’t know her personally but I have noticed that she is active on this topic both within the Society of American Archivists and the Organization of American Historians organizations, and seems to go to a lot of conferences. She might be someone well worth reaching out to. Here is her staff profile http://americanhistory.si.edu/profile/475