Equating Productivity and Inclusion

Dr. Tim Cordes, depicted using a mobile app to convert text to speech in The Capital Times.

The story of Dr. Tim Cordes that appeared in local Madison, Wisconsin, newspaper The Capital Times in 2010 (Finkelmeyer, 2010) underscores how assistive technologies often aim to support social inclusion primarily by enabling productivity. Sarah Rose (2017) defines the central American ideal of productivity more specifically as “access to paid work” and provides historical analysis demonstrating how such access “has long served as the foundation of social and economic citizenship in the United States” (p. 8). This article pays particular attention to how technology enables Cordes, who is blind, to satisfy his productive role as a psychiatrist. Examples provided include Braille texts and labels, audiobooks, screen-reading software, and a machine that translates images into raised-line drawings that can be interpreted through touch.

By focusing exclusively on the application of assistive technology to Cordes’ medical practice, the article reinforces accepted cultural assumptions that equate physical and economic autonomy with social inclusion. While outside the intended scope of this article, insufficient acknowledgement of barriers beyond direct patient care prevents the piece from presenting an argument for Cordes’ full and equitable inclusion in medicine or society. Cordes is quoted as saying, “I look forward to a world where people with disabilities do what they want, and it’s not exciting or it’s not different” (Finkelmeyer, 2010). However, the article presents him as an inspirational exception without critically examining deeply embedded cultural values that view the need for assistance—whether technological or otherwise—as a sign of dependence resulting in stigmatization and social exclusion.

References:

Finkelmeyer, T. (2010, June 2). Tim Cordes one of few sightless doctors in U.S. The Capital Times. https://captimes.com/news/local/health_med_fit/tim-cordes-one-of-few-sightless-doctors-in-u-s/article_b968b027-0789-52f3-81a0-5cbcaf69c719.html

Rose, S. (2017). No Right to be Idle: The Invention of Disability, 1840s-1930s. University of North Carolina Press.