Science, Technology, Society Talks – 4
Speaker: Assist. Prof. Dikmen Bezmez
Moderation: Assoc. Prof. Murat Ergin
Curation: Assoc. Prof. Ebru Yetişkin - Dr. Duygu Kaşdoğan
This talk focuses on the use and impact of medical technology in physical rehabilitation for disabled people. Major developments in medical technology following the 1970s highlighted the potential of technological advancement to progressively understand the human body and compensate for its ‘flaws’. In relation to disability, the argument has been that technology would ‘cure’ disability. In line with other disability studies scholars this talk criticizes such technological determinism and argues that the use of technology is shaped by the relevant sociocultural background.
Dikmen Bezmez is an assistant professor in the Department of Sociology at Koç University. Her research focuses on the sociology of health and illness and disability studies. More specifically, her recent research interest has been on the social experience of physical rehabilitation. Her recent publications include an article published in 2016 in Disability & Society on discourses surrounding the concept of “walking” in in-patient rehabilitation in Turkey, in Scandinavian Journal of Disability Research on the use of medical technology in rehabilitation, and in Interactions: Studies in Communication and Culture, on representations of disability on Turkish Television Health Shows.
The event is free of charge. Invitations available from the Akbank Sanat ticket office on the event day, one hour before the event begins.