Science

Major Project: Accessibility in the Chemistry Department

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Artist statements:

In this major project, the stories of two female disabled chemists are analyzed to discern what are the major barriers for disabled Chemists in the laboratory. The info obtained through these narratives are then used to analyze one of the chemistry labs in the Chemistry building at Western Washington University, (this is not representative of all labs on WWU campuses. It is merely a look into one lab.). There are two main ways Western can improve accessibility in the lab. 1) Create a more accessible environment, with broad clean halls, wheelchair accessible work environments, and more comfortable instruments. 2) Encourage disabled scientists to develop a support network in the scientific community.

The paper was originally designed to be a multi-disciplinary look into the narratives in the scientific community, but due to time restraints, the focus was narrowed down to accessibility in the Chemistry lab, and how these principles can be applied to Western’s labs. You will find the completed project attached to this post in a pdf.

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Major Project Proposal – “Disability and Science”

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Disability and Science

An examination on rhetoric and science implemented by disabled people, written in a somewhat formal style reminiscent of ACS writing standards for scientific papers, but not strictly conforming to the guidelines. 

Questions:

  1. What is the rhetoric of disability in science?
    1. Popular examples:
      1. Stephen Hawking – Physicist, motor neuron disease
      2. Temple Grandin – Animal behaviorist, autistic
      3. Solomon Lefschetz – Mathematician, lost both hands.
      4. John Forbes Nash Jr. – Mathematician, mental illness (Beautiful Mind)
      5. Albert Einstein – Physicist, believed to be autistic
    2. Other examples
      1. Wanda Diaz-Merced
      2. Caroline M. Solomon
  2. How has their disability been reflected in their scientific pursuits? (What disciplines do they go for? How does their disability affect how they see their field of interest?)
  3. Pop. sci vs.  Academia (science tinged with personal stories vs. strictly factual analysis)

Potential Resources:

  1. Disabled Scientists Are Often Excluded From The Lab; Copyright © 2021 NPR. https://www.npr.org/2021/05/27/1000869161/disabled-scientists-are-often-excluded-from-the-lab
  1. Science and Disability: Interviews in the General Collection
https://www.sciencehistory.org/science-and-disability-interviews-in-the-general-collection
  1. Our Disabilities Have Made Us Better Scientists; By Gabi Serrato Marks, Skylar Bayer on July 10, 2019
https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/voices/our-disabilities-have-made-us-better-scientists/
  1. Celebrating scientists with disabilities – The Royal Society https://royalsociety.org/topics-policy/diversity-in-science/scientists-with-disabilities/