When people think of prosthetics, they’re usually thinking about the future: bionic limbs, cyborg bodies, and other sci-fi scenes. But prosthetics and assistive technologies are so much more interesting—so much more creative and dynamic in their infinite variety, and so timely and important for all of us. Come hear Sara Hendren talk about high tech and low tech prosthetics, kitchen tools and cardboard furniture, architecture for deafness, a village for dementia, and much more.
This seminar is co-organized with UW CREATE.
Sara Hendren is a humanist in tech—an artist, design researcher, writer, and professor at Olin College of Engineering outside Boston. Her book What Can A Body Do? How We Meet the Built World explores the unexpected places where disability is at the heart of everyday design, and uncovers the lessons available in all the ways our bodies connect with the material world: household objects, architecture, urban planning, and more. Her work has been widely exhibited in museum exhibitions and is held in the permanent collections at MoMA and the Cooper Hewitt, and her writing and design work have been featured on NPR, Fast Company, and in the New York Times. She is a former fellow at the New America think tank and the Carey Institute for Global Good. She lives in Boston with her family.