From left to right: Samantha Beebe, Nick Rossi, Wade Shumaker, Andjela Kaur, Amy Kuntz, Julie Meyer, Sara Davis, Elizabeth Nelson. Team member missing from the photograph: Ben Hammel.
CENTER VALLEY, Pa. — Two Penn State Lehigh Valley professors, Andjela Kaur and Samantha Beebe, are collaborating with a team of Penn State experts to begin the production of an interactive online book, "Adventures in Disability Culture." The production, which will last through May 2026, is supported by a Teaching and Learning with Technology (TLT) Fellowship.
"Adventures in Disability Culture" aims to enhance the learning and teaching experiences of disability culture, according to Kaur, who has been teaching on disability culture for over a decade.
Kaur detailed the motivation for the project: “While disability culture is a lively and an ever-present phenomenon, the teaching and learning of it is often organized in ways that separate the learner from the cultural experience of disability, rendering the learner a mere observer, rather than a visitor or a participant in the disability culture movement. We are seeking to change that by using technology to support an immersive experience for those who are curious about disability culture.”
The integration of technology will be facilitated by Penn State’s experts in graphic and web design, instructional design, accessibility, and project management.
The book will be written as a type of "choose-your-adventure" narrative that offers the reader the chance to explore topics such as disability poetry, visual arts, and disability pride in a way that best works for them. Beebe's history of teaching using immersive technology only amplifies her excitement for the project, she said.
“One of the things that will make this book so engaging is that the reader is the driver of the book — the reader decides how the story will go,” Beebe said. “We can offer different directions of the narrative, but the reader chooses the pathway they wish to follow. Andjela and I create possible narrative pathways, but the readers are the protagonists of their stories.”
To honor the long history of disability culture in the world, Kaur and Beebe will expose readers to a range of past and present works created by disabled writers, painters, dancers, musicians, theoreticians and craftspeople. The professors will also be creating original content and said they are seeking to hear from anyone from the on- and- off campus community who wishes to contribute to the project. For more information or to participate, contact Kaur at [email protected] or Beebe at [email protected].
