I work on translating the culture and artifacts created by university institutions (such as administrative units and academic departments) into interpretations of the complexity of Disability on campus. With my dissertation work, I want to investigate the construction and performance of Disability within academia.
The fundamental idea guiding my dissertation work revolves around: How is Disability constructed in higher education? In order to answer this question, secondary questions focus on the historical context and word usage:
- What has occurred at these institutes of higher education (IHEs) regarding Disability since the passage of the ADA (1990) to 2015?
- How is Disability described and discussed at the institute of higher education in question?
Supporting work
I discuss previous work that I have done in support of my iPhD on my “Disability in Practice” page. However, during the time that I have been at Virginia Tech, I have also done research work and conducted workshops related to ePortfolios.
I have been merging my Disability perspective with ePortfolios with both the idea of performance and the field of disability studies, looking at the potential impact that this lens might have on ePortfolio research and application. A more detailed page discussing my ePortfolio related research is also available.
Martina Svyantek 