Tag Archives: public sphere

Mapping Controversies in Citizen Bioscience


“Narrative” – who owns it, who controls it, who disrupts it – was the holy grail of almost every argument at Media in Transition 7. After Marina Levina’s talk on Citizen Bioscience in the Age of New Media, I plunged passionately into a debate that seemed to be a reduction of individual vs. institutional narratives. I was alarmed by the notion that “citizen bioscientists” could conduct genetic research without the human protections oversight of the informed consent and institutional review board (IRB) process. To my surprise, I was defending Institutional Science, at least as far as it embraces the protection of human subjects in research. Even as I took on this role, I remembered something I wrote in the role of a disability rights activist in “Not This Pig.” Continue reading

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Listen to the Voices of Disability Discrimination


Most of the media coverage I heard on the ADA 20th anniversary represented the civil rights law as a landmark in American public life. There were dissenting views, of course. Someone hiding behind the name “fortressdayton” wasted little time in adding this comment to my op-ed piece on the Dayton Daily News Matter of Opinion blog. Disability discrimination is often hard to put your finger on, so I give “fortressdayton” credit for being unfiltered, if mean-spirited. Continue reading

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White House Celebrates 20th Anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act


President Obama and others speak at an event commemorating the 20th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act. [Source: whitehose.gov]. This video is in the public domain. Read the transcript. Continue reading

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A ‘Public Sphere’ Argument for Accessibility


When I heard the word “readable” in the following quote from the Personal Democracy Forum, I immediately read into it “accessible” for blind readers. Via Eric Kuhn: TwitNotes from #PDF09: Andrew Rasiej:  Public should be redefined as being searchable and … Continue reading

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