[Ohio-talk] Philosophy of disability

Sun Nov 24 22:09:51 UTC 2013

Hi Cheryl, 

You brought up a great point that I should explain to help others understand
what I'm doing.  I am not really encorperating music into this project, but
what I'm doing with my major and minors is trying to put myself in a
position where I could do writing on the side.  Music therapy will be my
main degree, and I will get a minor in psych because that goes together with
it very well, and it only takes two more psych classes than the initial
requirement for my major.  

The philosophy minor puzzled my advisor, but what I want to do with it is be
able to write about the philosophy of music therapy, the philosophy of
rehabilitation, the philosophy of disability, the philosophy of therapy, and
so on.  I think this is something that hasn't been given enough attention in
the world of philosophy.  Philosophers spend a lot of time on consciousness,
ethics, and social interaction, but they don't factor in parts of the human
condition that are different from the norm.  My intro to philosophy
professor last year tried to tell me and my classmates that people who have
Autism lack what he called, "Theory of mind," and said that right after
using Monkeys as a comparison to humans to illustrate how a human has theory
of mind and a monkey does not.  Really, he was equating those with Autism to
primates, and that sickened me and made me want to explore the philosophy of
disability at the same time.  (In case you can't tell, he was not one of my
favorite professors).    

I will say that Dr. Ashe's speech on bioethics at the national convention
got me thinking even more.  I had talked with my advisor about adding a
philosophy minor at the end of the last school year, but this semester I had
a clearer idea of what I wanted to accomplish with it.  In fact, I will be
taking a bioethics class next semester, and while I have not seen my
textbook yet I am hoping that it will discuss some of these issues.  

With this minor and this understanding giving me the capability to write on
the subject, I hope to put the knowledge I've learned to use in music
therapy journals and other similar publications.  Not all therapists are
equally empathetic, or have the best understanding of disability if they
don't know for themselves, so I hope that this could be beneficial to the
field of music therapy most of all.  

Kaiti Shelton
University of Dayton---2016
Music Therapy Major, Psychology Minor, Clarinet
Ohio Association of Blind Students, President 
Advocates for Sexual Assault Prevention (ASAP), Vice President
NFB Community Service Group, Service Project Committee Chair
Sigma Alpha Iota-Delta Sigma, Usher Coordinator

-----Original Message-----
From: Ohio-talk [mailto:ohio-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Cheryl
Fields
Sent: Saturday, November 23, 2013 9:26 PM
To: NFB of Ohio Announcement and Discussion List
Subject: Re: [Ohio-talk] Philosophy of disability

Kaiti, this is an ambitious endeavor. I don't know any blind people from
other countries, however check the Matilda Ziegler Magazine, pen pal section
and there may be some contacts in there and it may be a great place to post
an announcement about your project. How will you incorporate music into this
project?
A few weeks ago JW posted a new book about racism among the blind, will find
title and send to you. This really made me think a little deeper about it,
now you are making me think a little deeper about how others may perceive me
as a person with a disability and African American.
When I get my thoughts together I will send them to you, should be
interesting!

Blessings,
Cheryl

On 11/19/13, Kaiti Shelton <kaiti.shelton at gmail.com> wrote:
> Hi all,
>
> One of the new things I'm trying to explore is the philosophy of 
> disability.  This is in several contexts, including how people from 
> different cultures perceive those with disabilities, what makes people 
> from these different cultures perceive different disabilities 
> differently, and how culture impacts the perceptions of a disabled 
> person of themself, others with their disability, and people with 
> other disabilities.
>
> For my philosophy minor I have the option of taking a 400 level 
> seminar class or completing a capstone.  I'm thinking the capstone 
> will be the way I will choose to go, since it will allow me to 
> complete the project and the minor on my own time, and because I have 
> a little more freedom in choosing a topic.  It's also a way of tying 
> it in with music therapy, since it gives my puzzled advisor a little 
> more of an idea of what I'm trying to do by going for a minor in 
> something that seems very remotely related to my major on the surface.
>
> I'm just beginning preliminary research, and odds are the project will 
> have an emphasis on blindness, but if you've had experiences when 
> traveling out of the country, or met someone of a different 
> nationality who has expressed a different view on disability or 
> blindness, how was it?  Do you know anyone in another country who 
> feels differently about their disability in response to how others 
> seem to perceive them?  Any feedback for consideration would be 
> appreciated.
>
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--
Peace

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