The Psychology Of Blindness And Visual Culture (towards A New Ecological Model Of Visual Impairment)

This book advances the debate regarding the inclusion and wellbeing of people with visual impairment (PVI) through looking at the psychological nature of visual culture and its effects on the lived experience. It is compelling reading for advanced students of psychology and philosophy, and those studying learning in cultural settings.

The Psychology of Blindness and Visual Culture: Towards a New Ecological Model of Visual Impairment advances the debate regarding the inclusion and wellbeing of people with visual impairment (PVI) through looking at the psychological nature of visual culture and its effects on the lived experience. It explores whether it is possible to increase access to visual culture for PVI through language, alternative sensory data or contemporary communication media, and in so doing, questions whether or not communication and culture are intrinsically visual.

Occupying a unique field of study by focusing on the understanding of visual culture and visual communication by PVI in real-world settings, this empirical book examines the difference between the understanding of visual culture and visual communication by PVI who acquire their visual impairments late in life and PVI who acquire their visual impairments early in life. Understanding these concepts not only helps us to understand how PVI feel socially included in visual culture, but also how culture and artifacts are conceptualized verbally, culturally and through the senses.

It is compelling reading for advanced students of psychology and philosophy, and those studying learning in cultural settings, and in museum studies, computer science, disability studies, education and fine art management.

Introduction. Section 1: The Development of Western Knowledge on Blindness. Chapter 1: Blindness in Antiquity, Christianity, Islam and Judaism. Chapter 2: The Middle Ages through to the Enlightenment. Chapter 3: Late Eighteenth through to Twent-First Century Culture and Blindness. Section 2: Institutionalization, Visual Impairment and Non-Visual Culture. Chapter 4: The Foundation of Early Western Institutions for the Blind. Chapter 5: English Institutional Education of the Blind, 1999. Section 3: Studies of Visual Impairment and Visual Culture. Chapter 6: Case Studies of Learning Visual Culture after Losing Sight. Chapter 7: A Study of Blind and Visually Impaired Web Coders. Conclusion. References.

Simon Hayhoe is an associate professor in the School of Education, University of Exeter, and an associate of the Scottish Sensory Centre, University of Edinburgh. His writing focuses on visual impairment and visual culture, accessible and inclusive technologies, philosophies of sensory impairment and inclusion and social science research methodology.