Conference Agenda
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PAPERS: Critical Humanities and Rethinking Body Norms Location: McEwan Hall Auditorium Zoom Link Session Chair: Sarah Kettley, University of Edinburgh Session Chair: Elif Ozden Yenigun, Royal College of Art | |
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AGNES as a Critical Wearable: Mediating Age, Materiality, and Embodied Expertise 1: AgeLab, Massachusetts Institute of Technology; 2: Advanced Care Research Centre, University of Ediburgh Design is increasingly engaging with the body through soft systems, wearables, and responsive materials, exploring how material interactions shape experiences of care and inclusion. This paper examines the Age Gain Now Empathy System (AGNES) - a wearable suit simulating the chronic physical conditions and functional changes associated with older age - as a critical, soma-focused design intervention. Drawing on auto-ethnographic reflection and participant observation, we present a theoretical and methodological analysis. We argue that AGNES' critical materiality actively mediates how the ageing body is read and made visible, inviting embodied understanding and supporting co-creation partnerships. We analyse how this wearable shifts bodily perception and movement, serving as a tool to deconstruct normative assumptions about age and ability. Finally, we reflect on the ethics of employing a prosthetic system, offering AGNES as a model for how material-body interactions can resist extractive design practices and inform more inclusive approaches. View Paper: https://doi.org/10.21606/drs.2026.2600
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