#agesextech: Speculative Design for Intimate Encounters & Ageing: Britta Schulte; Bauhaus Uni Weimar
Channel: Exceptional Norms
Date: 2021-06-28

Talk held on May 20th as part of the Public Lecture Series 'Critical Perspectives on Technology' organised within the project 'Exceptional Norms: Marginalised Bodies in Interaction Design' and the HCI Group of TU Wien. 

More information here: https://exceptional-norms.at/critical-perspectives/

Talk Abstract

How would you feel about a camera in your bedroom? Are microphones a better solution? While many are taken aback by these suggestions at first glance, these are sometimes suggested as means of monitoring elderly people to support their health and independent living. Through speculative design I explore in my practice why a medicalised approach to elderly care that focuses on minimising risk is problematic and how alternative designs could inspire us to rethink how we understand care, intimacy and ageing. In my talk I present examples of my work and pose the questions that have been derived through this work for future discussion and inspiration. 

Speaker Bio

Britta F. Schulte is a Post-Doctoral Researcher at Bauhaus-University Weimar in Germany, after finishing off their PhD on design fictions and their use in sensitive settings such as dementia care. In their spare time, they write stories, many of which feature robots. If they are not reading, writing or knitting, they make zines, such as their self-published “Take Care #1: Robots”, “Take Care #2: Technology, Dementia & Care”, and “Don’t Blush: Sexuality, Ageing & Design”.