Over the past six years I’ve witnessed a growing awareness of issues of diversity and accessibili... more Over the past six years I’ve witnessed a growing awareness of issues of diversity and accessibility in the global maker movement. The lack of women, people of colour, people with disabilities, older adults, people with caring responsibilities, and people with low incomes has increasingly become part of the everyday conversations happening in makerspaces and at maker events, and maker communities are actively taking steps to become more inclusive.
The growing body of literature on the global 'maker movement' has highlighted the existence of a ... more The growing body of literature on the global 'maker movement' has highlighted the existence of a number of disparate conceptions of what a 'maker' is and what they do, which raises the problem of how to assess the potentials and limitations of the maker movement when the term 'maker' is used to refer to a wide range of people and practices. This dissertation presents the results of a case study into the values and practices associated with the term 'maker' in the UK in order to assess whether 'maker' constitutes a useful categorical term for the purposes of analysis and critique, and to question whether general perceptions of what makers do and what being a maker means affect people's ability to engage with the UK maker community. It concludes that conflicting conceptions of the term 'maker' has resulted in a lack of consensus on what activities makers engage in, making the term ineffective as an analytic or descriptive category. However, it also concludes that identification with the term 'maker' is not a prerequisite for participating in the maker community and utilising the opportunities it provides for personal and social empowerment.
Over the past six years I’ve witnessed a growing awareness of issues of diversity and accessibili... more Over the past six years I’ve witnessed a growing awareness of issues of diversity and accessibility in the global maker movement. The lack of women, people of colour, people with disabilities, older adults, people with caring responsibilities, and people with low incomes has increasingly become part of the everyday conversations happening in makerspaces and at maker events, and maker communities are actively taking steps to become more inclusive.
The growing body of literature on the global 'maker movement' has highlighted the existence of a ... more The growing body of literature on the global 'maker movement' has highlighted the existence of a number of disparate conceptions of what a 'maker' is and what they do, which raises the problem of how to assess the potentials and limitations of the maker movement when the term 'maker' is used to refer to a wide range of people and practices. This dissertation presents the results of a case study into the values and practices associated with the term 'maker' in the UK in order to assess whether 'maker' constitutes a useful categorical term for the purposes of analysis and critique, and to question whether general perceptions of what makers do and what being a maker means affect people's ability to engage with the UK maker community. It concludes that conflicting conceptions of the term 'maker' has resulted in a lack of consensus on what activities makers engage in, making the term ineffective as an analytic or descriptive category. However, it also concludes that identification with the term 'maker' is not a prerequisite for participating in the maker community and utilising the opportunities it provides for personal and social empowerment.
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Papers by Em O'Sullivan
personal and social empowerment.
personal and social empowerment.