[cs_content][cs_section parallax=”false” style=”margin: 0px;padding: 50px 0px 10px;”][cs_row inner_container=”true” marginless_columns=”false” style=”margin: 0px auto;padding: 0px;”][cs_column fade=”false” fade_animation=”in” fade_animation_offset=”45px” fade_duration=”750″ type=”1/1″ style=”padding: 0px;”][x_image type=”none” src=”https://www.dwrl.utexas.edu/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/Screen-Shot-2017-02-10-at-1.01.08-PM-1.png” alt=”Google Map image showing a birdseye view of the University of Texas at Austin and surrounding areas. ” link=”false” href=”#” title=”” target=”” info=”none” info_place=”top” info_trigger=”hover” info_content=””][/cs_column][/cs_row][/cs_section][cs_section bg_color=”hsl(0, 0%, 100%)” parallax=”false” class=”cs-ta-left” style=”margin: 0px;padding: 45px 0px;”][cs_row inner_container=”true” marginless_columns=”false” style=”margin: 0px auto;padding: 0px;”][cs_column fade=”false” fade_animation=”in” fade_animation_offset=”45px” fade_duration=”750″ type=”1/1″ style=”padding: 0px;”][cs_text]In the DWRL’s ongoing Accessibility project, we’ve kicked off the semester by asking: What makes a story visible or invisible? How does visibility affect accessibility? We considered whether or not popularity, or “trending,” obfuscate access to less normative narrative, and if “fake news” and “alternative facts” operate to distract from, obscure, and ultimately hide “true stories” and “real information.” This led to a broad discussion of search engines and search terms through Google Analytics to gather insight into about things people seek to give language to and whether or not access to common language and common modes of reference shape or change, enable or disable, access to a thing.
To connect this to our project, we asked:
[/cs_text][cs_icon_list][cs_icon_list_item title=”What narratives are missing from existing maps of UT?” type=”check” link_enabled=”false” link_url=”#” link_new_tab=”false”]What narratives are missing from existing maps of UT?[/cs_icon_list_item][cs_icon_list_item title=”What language is needed for access to these maps?” type=”check” link_enabled=”false” link_url=”#” link_new_tab=”false”]What language is needed for access to these maps?[/cs_icon_list_item][/cs_icon_list][cs_text]
These questions will help us determine the trajectory of the rest of our project.
Meanwhile, next steps are necessary. By utilizing shareable Google Maps, we have begun dropping content into map-form—observations, narratives, languages, interactions we have noticed and noted in our surveys of this end of campus. Groups from last semester will be including their findings, so we can begin to see relationships cartographically. From here, we hope to narrow down two essential parameters for the rest of our project:
[/cs_text][cs_icon_list][cs_icon_list_item title=”What story space are we providing access to?” type=”check” link_enabled=”false” link_url=”#” link_new_tab=”false”]What story space are we providing access to?[/cs_icon_list_item][cs_icon_list_item title=”For whom are we enabling access?” type=”check” link_enabled=”false” link_url=”#” link_new_tab=”false”]For whom are we enabling access?[/cs_icon_list_item][cs_icon_list_item title=”What language will our map-readers need?” type=”check” link_enabled=”false” link_url=”#” link_new_tab=”false”]What language will our map-readers need?[/cs_icon_list_item][/cs_icon_list][cs_text]For connections between symbolic discourse and built environment, check out this work from Aimi Hamraie, “Designing Collective Access” [/cs_text][/cs_column][/cs_row][/cs_section][/cs_content]
