ABOUT THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN PEOPLE WITH VISUAL DISABILITIES AND THE BUILT HERITAGE IN THE HISTORICAL CENTRE OF THE CITY OF CÓRDOBA, ARGENTINA

Abstract

A shared present implies, at least in part, a shared past. If it is shared, it should have been known before. The (cultural) heritage built up today is often a barrier defined by a lack of knowledge that leads to ignoring such a reality rather than tearing it down. In the particular case of the condition of visually impaired persons, the fact that they cannot establish (person-building) a visual relationship is also added.

This article presents the first advances of an ongoing research that seeks to provide visually impaired people with the necessary resources so that, in the course of a visit to the built heritage of the city of Córdoba, Argentina, they can imagine how the reality that they have in front of them and that contains them is like, aspiring that each one can manage their own journey. The experience presented here was proposed for a certain group of people in a particular building, but it also considers the possibility of generating new initiatives for other groups of visitors with different disabilities, for the general public and also for development in other buildings in Córdoba.

It is a research of a qualitative nature that proposes the Study-Action as a methodological modality, which implies a special epistemology and nosological perspective. The chosen approach also presupposes an experiential logic of active conservation. The objective is to deepen in the community the enrichment of the collective memory from the built up goods, the recognition of their authenticity and their changing values, and their appropriation by the community.