“How to Become a Batman” podcast
(Aired January 22, 2015)
Description: This two-part podcast takes up the question: Is blindness a social construction? First, the podcast explores the case of a research psychologist, Bob Rosenthal, who performed an experiment using rats and fellow experimenters. He found that experimenters who were told their rats were smart treated their rats with more care, which ultimately caused these rats to perform better than the so-called “dumb” rats. Part II explores the case of a blind man who trained himself to use echolocation to move throughout the world. This podcast pairs well with Plato’s “Allegory of the Cave” for discussions of the social construction of knowledge/truth. It also pairs well with:
Terzi, L. (2011). Justice and equality in education: A capability perspective on disability and
special educational needs. New York, NY: Continuum International Publishing Group.
Wendell, P. (1996). The rejected body: Feminist philosophical reflections on disability.
Psychology Press.
Topics/Themes: Disability/Ability Studies, Progressive education/Free schools