The readings from this course are
constantly and gradually expanding my thoughts and ideas about (dis)ability.
Rake’s argument from this week’s readings stimulated me to take another
perspective on examining the notion of disability. While claiming that the
examination on intersections that feminist philosophers/theorists focus on
tends to be based on their own identities and experiences, Rake cites Rowe’s
idea of “cartographies of belonging” as to think how we “map the ways in which
we are turned toward and away from others and how this positioning and
ir/relationality are central to the construction of subjectivity itself.” Rake
introduces the argument made by Clare to dig deeper into this notion of “ir/relationality”
to identify the “normalizing force” that perpetuates the idea of viewing impairment
as “always already disabled.” Positioning self on a map that
loosens or even reduces our conceptualization within this reductive binary
system is crucial in disability studies.
From
an art educational standpoint, the HEARTS model, suggested by Kraft and Keifer-Boyd, presents effective ways to
shift the “normalizing” perspective towards impairment by implementing “art’s
ability to maximize individual differences as a strategy for empowerment.”
While proposing practical methods to bring modifications for different needs,
such as the utilization of digital technologies, the model also puts weight on
the importance of devising directions and structure that are flexible enough to
visualize or make tangible of the participant’s “strength, interests, and
expressive modes” through art. By engaging both typical and different-abled
participants in the process of making art, it carries out inclusion strategies
based on reciprocal communications between the
educator/typical-abled/different-abled students. The model fosters further
thinking of how the distinctive values of art could be utilized in developing a
more relational mapping of identity (an identity as an ongoing process) based
upon the intersection of diverse experiences and perspectives.
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