3.0

credits

Average Course Rating

The purpose of prosthetics seems to be fairly straightforward—to restore function that was lost due to the loss of a body part. According to this logic, the quality of prosthetics is measured in its ability to replicate lost human function and restore individuals with disabilities to normalcy. And indeed, numerous disability technologies enrich the experience of individuals in need of them. At the same time, these very technologies are often perceived as a marker of something abnormal, or, by the nature of their design prove to be an obstacle for mobility and access. Therefore, as much as prosthetics and other technologies of disabilities improve the quality of life, they also led to stigmatization, marginalization, and exclusion. By looking at prosthetics and disability in a variety of historical contexts, we will learn what kind of ideas of ‘normalcy’ they reflect, and how they shape the experience of individuals who use them.