The concepts of place, well-being and daily life from people who are blind: geographical reflections from Brazil and New Zealand

• Grant number: 18/23988-5
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Master's degree
• Start date: March 01, 2019
• End date: July 31, 2019
• Field of knowledge: Humanities - Geography - Human Geography
• Principal Investigator: Raul Borges Guimarães
• Grantee: Leandro Buzzo Mourão Guimarães
• Supervisor: Robin Affric Kearns
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia (FCT). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Presidente Prudente. Presidente Prudente , SP, Brazil
• Institution abroad: University of Auckland, New Zealand
• Associated to the scholarship: 18/05967-0 - Living with blindness: the construction of being-in-the-world and as relations of belonging the place in Presidente Prudente- SP, BP.MS

Abstract

Is under development in the undergraduate program-UNESP Presidente Prudente my master thesis. Within the framework of this project, the vision loss has been analyzed considering the extent to which it affects directly the relationship of subjects with the places they inhabit, especially, because the vision is not a single light stimulus record, but a selective and creative process in relation to the environment. This is one of the most important senses responsible for providing meaning and, its loss relates directly to the process of knowing and building reality. This makes people who suffer from blindness find other ways, whether through touch, taste, smell or addition of conceiving the geographical space. However, when exposing our concern with these subjects, as well as theoretical and methodological challenges that require the development of master's research, we emphasize the need to seek at the University of Auckland, materials and experiences which allows us to make reflections and deeper studies, especially on fundamental labour issues: the concept of place, well-being, everyday life, and qualitative research. For that, we consider essential to this plan of activities, under the supervision of Prof. Robin Kearns, considering that for this Canadian researcher, eradicated in New Zealand, the focus of the geographical research is not the illness, but the relationship of the dimension of health in the production process of life. (AU)