ThoughtGallery.org > Callous Objects: Robert Rosenberger with Chad Kautzer

Callous Objects: Robert Rosenberger with Chad Kautzer

Callous Objects unearths cases in which cities push homeless people out of public spaces through a combination of policy and strategic design. Robert Rosenberger examines such commonplace devices as garbage cans, fences, signage, and benches—all of which reveal political agendas beneath the surface. Such objects have evolved, through a confluence of design and law, to be open to some uses and closed to others, but always capable of participating in collective ends on a large scale. Rosenberger brings together ideas from the philosophy of technology, social theory, and feminist epistemology to spotlight the widespread anti-homeless ideology built into our communities and enacted in law.

Robert Rosenberger will present some ideas from Callous Objects, which identifies and criticizes a pervasive anti-homeless agenda instantiated in law and public-space design. We’ll review instances of “hostile architecture,” public-space objects that have been designed to discriminate against the unhoused, from spikes set into ledges, to armrests added to benches to deter sleeping. And with some ideas from the philosophy of technology and feminist theory, we’ll consider ways think about the prejudices that are built into the bricks and ironwork and security cameras of our cities. Special guest Chad Kautzer will relate Rosenberger’s work to the concept of “dys-appearance,” which refers to the way bodies are made visible through disabling social norms, practices, and environments. Chronic lack of shelter and lack of access to private facilities often produce dys-appearance, as private lives are forced into public spaces increasingly and intentionally built to render those lives “unfit”.











When: Sat., Jul. 13, 2019 at 7:00 pm
Where: McNally Jackson
52 Prince St.
212-274-1160
Price: Free
Buy tickets/get more info now
See other events in these categories:

Callous Objects unearths cases in which cities push homeless people out of public spaces through a combination of policy and strategic design. Robert Rosenberger examines such commonplace devices as garbage cans, fences, signage, and benches—all of which reveal political agendas beneath the surface. Such objects have evolved, through a confluence of design and law, to be open to some uses and closed to others, but always capable of participating in collective ends on a large scale. Rosenberger brings together ideas from the philosophy of technology, social theory, and feminist epistemology to spotlight the widespread anti-homeless ideology built into our communities and enacted in law.

Robert Rosenberger will present some ideas from Callous Objects, which identifies and criticizes a pervasive anti-homeless agenda instantiated in law and public-space design. We’ll review instances of “hostile architecture,” public-space objects that have been designed to discriminate against the unhoused, from spikes set into ledges, to armrests added to benches to deter sleeping. And with some ideas from the philosophy of technology and feminist theory, we’ll consider ways think about the prejudices that are built into the bricks and ironwork and security cameras of our cities. Special guest Chad Kautzer will relate Rosenberger’s work to the concept of “dys-appearance,” which refers to the way bodies are made visible through disabling social norms, practices, and environments. Chronic lack of shelter and lack of access to private facilities often produce dys-appearance, as private lives are forced into public spaces increasingly and intentionally built to render those lives “unfit”.

Buy tickets/get more info now