Ability and Prosthetics Ethnography and Research 

research assistant

Overview

With professor Sara Hendren at Olin College, I spent two years researching the technical innovations and cultural contexts of prosthetics, disability, and design.
My research started with a Clare Boothe Luce fellowship to work with Sara and Caitrin Lynch on three projects in summer 2015: literature research on prosthetics and disability studies, anthropological fieldwork in a textile factory, and interviews and writing for engineeringathome.org. 
​I continued the research project for two years following the conclusion of my fellowship. In my final year of undergrad, I did a semester long independent study in Design and Disability Studies as a continuation of this research. 
Company: Olin College of Engineering
Title:           Research Assistant
Courses:    Inclusive Design, Independent Study: Design     
                    and Disability Studies
Date:          May 2015 - Dec 2017
Roles:
  • Researcher (literature, popular culture)
  • Author (reports, summaries, content for engineeringathome.org)​

Engineering at Home
​To make engineering at home, Sara, Caitrin, two students and I visited with Cindy regularly to listen to her story and see what daily life was like for her. We took preliminary pictures of Cindy's devices, and we drafted the descriptions of each of them. We also assisted Jon Adler in conducting narrative psychology sessions with Cindy to hear about her story and what it meant to her. 

Textile Factory Fieldwork
With Caitrin, we did twice weekly fieldwork in a local textile factory. One of the last remaining American textile factories, we were interested in the lives of the people who worked there and the meaning their work held for them. We worked 6am to 3pm shifts in the textile factory, having employees show us how to do their jobs and chatting with them to pass the time. We journaled after every shift to make sense of what we had learned. 

I also did research during days in the office on the mechanization of manufacturing, the move of manufacturing to other countries, fast fashion, and the future of robotics in manufacturing. 

Gallery
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Ability Research 
I also worked for more than two years with Sara Hendren to do research for her book, which recently has been released. I did literature reviews and digital content reviews to research the following topics: 

  • Abortion & Psychology
  • ALS & Steve Sailing
  • Appropriate Technology
  • Breast Implants & Elective Mastectomy
  • Cochlear Implants
  • Congenital/Acquired Disability
  • "Crip"
  • Deaf Space at Gallaudet University​
  • Dementia
  • Following Piece
  • Inclined Planes
  • Mara Mills
  • Rehabilitative Engineering
  • Speaking Exchange
  • Prosthetic Arms
  • Thalidomide
Sara's book, What Can a Body Do, is available now:

Literature