![]() Shew and her team will develop a network of disabled community members in southwestern Virginia and western North Carolina. One of the main goals of “Just Dis Tech” is to promote the value of disabled expertise in research for and about the disability community. Faculty at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte also are collaborating on the project. Tyechia Thompson, assistant professor of English, and Alice Rogers, University Libraries' Media Design Studio manager, are involved as project personnel. The team consists of Shew, Kereshmeh Afsari, assistant professor of construction engineering at Virginia Tech, and Elizabeth McLain, musicology instructor and interim co-director of the university’s disability studies minor. “We are guided by a desire for epistemic justice, but also want to have a lot of fun enjoying and sharing disability-led arts and culture,” Shew said. Shew hopes the project showcases the importance of humanistic engagement on technology topics. It will also impact the ways people think about developing disability-related technology, she said, noting that researchers often conduct disability-themed projects without a thorough understanding of disability community values and desires. They also will cultivate the emerging inclusive gaming community and establish a Disability Community Technology Center.Īshley Shew, associate professor in Virginia Tech’s Department of Science, Technology, and Society and the project’s leader, said she believes the support from the foundation will be “truly revolutionary” for the region in terms of building momentum about disability justice, community building work, and learning centered on disability history and culture. With the three-year project, called “Just Dis Tech,” the Virginia Tech researchers plan to launch an education and arts outreach residency program with artists focused on disability justice. The foundation is a nonprofit organization that funds arts and humanities work nationwide. The team received a $502,000 grant from the Andrew Mellon Foundation to create local and regional programming for disability-led arts, culture, reflection, and technology guidance. ![]() A group of Virginia Tech faculty who represent a variety of disciplines is bringing the principles of disability justice to Appalachia through educational workshops, cultural events, and technology research.
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