Common Read

New Students
New Student Orientation
Common Read

What is the Common Read?

The purpose of the Common Read is to introduce new students to topics of equity and inclusion that can be integrated in their social and academic life. The program provides a common experience for all new students while strengthening a sense of belonging from their first days on campus, and it engages students in intentional ways of thinking across disciplines, experiences, and strengths.

SAVE THE DATE:
Author Ashley Shew is coming to campus!
Friday, September 6, 2024 at 4:00 pm, Boe Chapel.

2024 Common Read:

Against Technoableism: Rethinking Who Needs Improvement

by Ashley Shew

Against Technoableism: Rethinking Who Needs Improvement:

In a warm, feisty voice and vibrant prose, Against Technoableism shows how we can create better narratives and more accessible futures by drawing from the insights of the cross-disability community. To forge a more equitable world, Shew argues that we must eliminate “technoableism”—the harmful belief that technology is a “solution” for disability; that the disabled simply await being “fixed” by technological wizardry; that making society more accessible and equitable is somehow a lesser priority. Most disabled people don’t want what the abled assume they want—nor are they generally asked. Almost everyone will experience disability at some point in their lives, yet the abled persistently frame disability as an individual’s problem rather than a social one. This badly needed introduction to disability expertise considers mobility devices, medical infrastructure, neurodivergence, and the crucial relationship between disability and race. The future, Shew points out, is surely disabled—whether through changing climate, new diseases, or even through space travel. It’s time we looked closely at how we all think about disability technologies and learn to envision disabilities not as liabilities, but as skill sets enabling all of us to navigate a challenging world.

Ashley Shew’s areas of academic focus:

Philosophy of Technology
Technological Knowledge
Disability and Technology
Non-Human Animal Tool Use
Ethics and the Body

Ashley Shew is an associate professor of science, technology, and society at Virginia Tech since 2011, and specializes in disability studies and technology ethics. Her books include Animal Constructions and Technological Knowledge and Spaces for the Future (coedited). Shew received a Certificate of Teaching Excellence in 2017 and a Diversity Award in 2016, both from the College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences. Also in 2016, she received the Sally Bohland Award for Excellence in Access and Inclusion from the Virginia Tech office of Services for Students with Disabilities.