CEU Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2015
| Author | Boazman, Kylie Jordan |
|---|---|
| Title | Trying On Disability: Simulating, Performing, and Embodying Identity in Hungary |
| Summary | In a post-socialist context and a changing understanding of disability, several Hungarian organizations have sought to educate the public and raise the visibility of disabled citizens. The Invisible Exhibition introduces visitors to a blind guide and asks them to pretend to be blind for an hour in order to understand what it means to be disabled. This relies on a concept promoted by phenomenology: individual bodily experiences shape worldview, therefore simulations can provide people with other worldviews by changing their bodily experience. Disability theory, however, asks us to balance this emphasis on individuality with prioritizing social constructions and barriers. I draw on both fields, in addition to feminist theories like performativity, to analyze the narrative set forth by the Invisible Exhibition and its visitors and the contradictory narrative from tour guides and the disability community, including myself. I also use ethnomethodology and autoethnography to describe my experience as a disabled researcher and my own experiences. Using data from interviews, observations, and participation, I argue that simulations are founded on assumptions about embodiment, identity, and knowledge, and that these debates and conflicting narratives require an equally complicated network of theories to discuss their importance. |
| Supervisor | Naumescu, Vlad and Lafferton, Emese |
| Department | Sociology MA |
| Full text | https://www.etd.ceu.edu/2015/boazman_kylie.pdf |
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