Hillary Anderson

Hillary Anderson is a Graduate Student Assistant at Western’s Academy for Advanced Research. She is currently a Library and Information Science PhD student at Western in the Faculty of Information and Media Studies (FIMS). Her research focuses on classification, critical disability studies, universal design, and the harm baked into our information systems. Prior to entering graduate studies, Hillary had a career in the arts and heritage sector, working with museum collections as a preventive and textile conservator.

Like many scholars who study disability, Hillary embraces the social model of disability in her work. This perspective views disability as a social problem to be solved collectively, rather than one to be fixed on the individual level on a case-by-case basis. By bringing this lens to the Smart Cities and Communities project, she will highlight social inequality in urban spaces and how to bring marginalized voices into the conversation to mitigate harm imposed by technology on their communities.