The role of technology in the making of meaning for visually impaired museum visitors

Abstract

How do visually impaired visitors access museum collections? How do they make sense of the environment? How does the use of technology impact their experience? These questions came up frequently during my PhD project. The target of my research is to acknowledge the diversity and pluralism of possible meanings, to explore the different ways in which visually impaired visitors construct their experience in museums, and to critically assess how inclusive technology can facilitate the museum experience. During this talk, I will share initial findings on how visually impaired visitors made sense of their museum visit, building connections with objects, embracing the environment, and using inclusive technology.

UCL Institute of Archaeology Research Seminars Programme | Term I, 2019-20

The Term I seminar series highlights current Institute of Archaeology research and this term relates to the TAG 2019 conference theme of ‘Power Knowledge and the Past’.

Mondays, 4pm, Room 612 (some titles are still provisional)

• 30 September: Mark Roberts (Archaeological Sciences) - IoA students at work in deer parks, forests, hunting lodges and prehistoric field systems: the 2018 and 2019 UCL Field and Surveying Courses
• 7 October: Elizabeth Graham (Archaeological Sciences) - Cadaver-soil interaction and long-term impact on ecology
• 14 October: Manuel Arroyo-Kalin et al (World Archaeology) - Social power: between Amazonia and the Maya lowlands (roundtable)
• 21 October: Raffaella Cecilia (Heritage Studies) - Inclusive visions: the role of technology in the making of meaning for visually impaired museum visitors

• 28 October: Alice Stevenson & Heba Abd el Gawad (Heritage Studies) -  Whose Ancient Egypt? Egypt and its dispersed heritage 

  [4 November: Reading Week - no seminar]

• 11 November:  Ian Barnes, Thomas Booth, Brenna Hassett, Stephen Shennan, Ulrike Sommer and David Wengrow (World Archaeology) – Reconciling material culture and genetic data in prehistory: a panel debate
• 18 November: Andrew Gardner et al (World Archaeology) – Objects, humans and agency: a panel debate
• 25 November: Caitlin O’Grady (Heritage Studies) - Negotiating knowledge and expertise: heritage, disciplinary power and preservation of the past
• 2 December: Andrew Reid (World Archaeology) - Rethinking the role of livestock in the human career
• 9 December: Patrick Quinn (Archaeological Sciences) - (Geo)chemical Warfare: Elemental Profiling of Emperor Qin Shihuang’s Terracotta Army