Turning a Blind Eye: Thoughts on an Archaeology of Disability

Summary

Since the 1990s, archaeologists have increasingly become interested in teasing apart the varied experiences of the past. Feminist and critical race frameworks have forced a reconsideration of the stories that have been told and whose viewpoints have been privileged in historical interpretation. One area that remains undertheorized and poorly understood across the discipline is the role impairment has played and its effect on people and society.

This paper considers what an archaeology of disability would look like. Moving beyond biomedical perspectives on impairment, it offers ways in which attending to ability can further research into material culture studies and the archaeology of war. Finally, it discusses the life of David Ruggles, a blind African American abolitionist, journalist and doctor, from a landscape perspective noting that central to understanding his experience of the western Massachusetts environment was his position as a visually impaired person. In closing, the paper offers thoughts on how a focus on disability can improve archaeological practice with fellow practitioners as well as the general public.

SAA 2015 abstracts made available in tDAR courtesy of the Society for American Archaeology and Center for Digital Antiquity Collaborative Program to improve digital data in archaeology. If you are the author of this presentation you may upload your paper, poster, presentation, or associated data (up to 3 files/30MB) for free. Please visit http://www.tdar.org/SAA2015 for instructions and more information.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 80th Annual Meeting, San Francisco, CA (2015)

Keywords

Spatial Coverage