Rehabilitation technology and the reproduction of bodily normality: a critical analysis of robotic
gait training in Turkey
Engelsk titel: Rehabilitation technology and the reproduction of bodily normality: a critical analysis of robotic
gait training in Turkey
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Författare:
Bezmez, Dikman
;
Yardimci, Sibel
Email: dbezmez@ku.edu.tr
Språk: Eng
Antal referenser: 25
Dokumenttyp:
Artikel
UI-nummer: 16113469
Sammanfattning
This paper focuses on rehabilitation technology, more specifically robotic gait training conducted
with a device called ‘Lokomat’ and its impact on the reproduction of bodily normality within the
Turkish context. It draws upon an ethnographic study carried out in a major Turkish rehabilitation
hospital and the analysis of the Lokomat's media representation in a health-related television
programme. Interviews were conducted with 42 persons (11 medical staff, 2 non-medical staff, and 20
current and 9 former patients). The paper argues that the use of technology is shaped by the relevant
sociocultural background. This background comprises both the specificities of the Turkish context
more generally - such as its especially unwelcoming environment to the disabled body - and the
discourses on the Lokomat more specifically, which create a miracle image of this device as
facilitating walking. Thus, the Lokomat's presence deepens the normal/abnormal divide and
reproduces it as walking/non-walking.