The History of Blindness and the Blind: Representations, Institutions, Archives: An International Perspective

Description

This colloquium will allow us to assess the current state of research into the social and cultural history of the blind and blindness, as well as enabling us to establish the extent of the worldwide archival and museum holdings related to this subject. As such we hope that this colloquium will give us a much greater visibility and will thus lend a greater legitimacy to this area of study – which might inspire early-career researchers – and, in particularly, blind and partially sighted historians, to engage with it in increasing numbers. We also hope that by demonstrating the value of this field we will encourage those institutions responsible for archives and artefacts relating to the history of blindness, to appreciate their importance for both the research community and for the blind themselves for whom these artefacts represent the collective memory. Thus we hope that History will help to influence the decisions of charitable organisations and public policy makers, in order to create, both now and in the future, a more effective approach to the integration of the blind and partially sighted. In summary, we hope that History will contribute to the development of a fairer and more humane society where ‘difference’ of whatever sort can be seen as an asset rather than of lesser value. Speakers are attending from France, the UK, the USA, Belgium, Canada, Italy, Poland, Portugal and Japan

Member of the organising committee and invited speaker

Period	26 Jun 2013 → 30 Jun 2013
Event type	Other
Sponsor