DISABILITY-ORIENTED RESEARCH AND FRAMEWORK FOR THE STEPHEN HAWKING COLLECTION AND ITS PUBLIC OFFERINGS
Lead Research Organisation:
UNIVERSITY OF LEICESTER
Abstract
A collection of over a thousand items from the late physicist Stephen Hawking will be put on display at the Science Museum in London in 2028. The Science Museum Group (SMG) and the Research Centre for Museums and Galleries (RCMG), University of Leicester will support a student with expertise in disability, ethics, interpretation and museum studies to carry out research that can inform and enrich the way we talk about Hawking’s life and relationship to disability in our exhibitions, research and public engagement.
The research sets out to explore:
-how to ethically integrate themes of disability and care (as an essential and everyday feature of human existence) into the Hawking project;
-routes to communicating with audiences how science and technology (as all culture), relate to disability, choosing the stories and languages we use to engage with this;
-implications for design, visitor experience and external communications.
Focused on the Hawking Collection, the studentship will draw on SMG’s expertise in Physics and Science and Technology Studies, and RCMG’s leading-edge research around the ethics of interpreting disability in order to generate a framework for the ethical interpretation of disability at SMG. The insights generated will support SMG to reflect and act on content and related ethical considerations and to consider accessibility and inclusiveness throughout the exhibition development process. The collaboration will be a model of how to best integrate disability and care into museum content and environments beyond traditionally medicalized offerings.
The research sets out to explore:
-how to ethically integrate themes of disability and care (as an essential and everyday feature of human existence) into the Hawking project;
-routes to communicating with audiences how science and technology (as all culture), relate to disability, choosing the stories and languages we use to engage with this;
-implications for design, visitor experience and external communications.
Focused on the Hawking Collection, the studentship will draw on SMG’s expertise in Physics and Science and Technology Studies, and RCMG’s leading-edge research around the ethics of interpreting disability in order to generate a framework for the ethical interpretation of disability at SMG. The insights generated will support SMG to reflect and act on content and related ethical considerations and to consider accessibility and inclusiveness throughout the exhibition development process. The collaboration will be a model of how to best integrate disability and care into museum content and environments beyond traditionally medicalized offerings.