Much of the literature about accessibility seeks to convince architects of the significance of inclusion. However, the field of Critical Access Studies has emerged in the last 10-15 years to raise additional questions of what counts as access, who benefits, and how designers can know. Aimi Hamraie will discuss some of the insights of Critical Access Studies that can better inform the theory and practice of accessible design.

Aimi Hamraie is Associate Professor of Medicine, Health, & Society and American Studies at Vanderbilt University, and director of the Critical Design Lab, a collaborative of disabled designers, artists, and researchers working within a disability culture framework. Hamraie is also the author of Building Access: Universal Design and the Politics of Disability. They are a recent appointee to the United States Access Board.

Join Zoom Event here.

Designing for Difference brings innovative design leaders, thinkers and humanists to campus, to celebrate the inauguration of Wheaton’s new Design program. Anchored in the History and Theory of Design course, this spring the WIIH asks students, staff, and faculty to challenge the concept of “normal” and reconsider what makes design inclusive.  All events are open to the public.

Presented by the Evelyn Danzig Haas ’39 Visiting Artists Program.