In the spring semester of 2023-2024, Assistant Professor Dr. Nehir TAŞTAN organized a technical trip to the Istanbul Dialogue Museum on May 16, 2024, as part of the Faculty of Architecture elective course MİMF316 Design for All. The trip was attended by 18 students, who had the opportunity to experience the Dialogue in the Dark and Dialogue in Silence exhibition areas with visually and hearing impaired guides.
Students engaged with the "Dialogue in the Dark" exhibition in a completely dark environment, guided by visually impaired guides and exploring their senses other than sight. By touching, smelling, and hearing in the dark, they had different experiences, such as finding directions in traffic, public spaces such as trams and ferries, using transportation vehicles, shopping, and movies with audio description. At the "Dialogue in Silence" exhibition, students engaged in non-verbal communication with hearing-impaired guides in a completely silent environment. This experience allowed students to observe the effective use of facial expressions and body language, as well as the potential for achieving outcomes through the use of senses other than hearing. In the related field study, the objective was for students to gain an understanding of the challenges faced by individuals with disabilities in their daily lives, particularly in areas such as transportation and communication. This was done with the intention of fostering a new perspective and awareness through empathizing with different human abilities and disabilities.
