D1) Pilgrimage Routes as Spaces of Interaction: Shared Experiences of Blind and Sighted Participants
Location
Monserrat
Start Date
25-6-2026 11:30 AM
End Date
25-6-2026 1:00 PM
Description
This presentation examines pilgrimage routes as spaces of interaction in which blind and sighted participants create shared experiences by traveling together. In this context, pilgrimage is understood not only as a religious or touristic practice, but also as a sociocultural activity that enables social and educational interaction.
Drawing on the concepts of educational interaction, social inclusion, and phenomenological experience, the presentation addresses how walking together along pilgrimage routes shapes relationships between blind and sighted participants, how attitudes toward visual impairment change, and how the pilgrimage route becomes a space for mutual learning. Particular attention is given to the multisensory dimension of pilgrimage sound, touch, movement, rhythm, and embodied presence on the route which allows pilgrimage to be rethought “beyond vision.”
The presentation is based on empirical insights from a study conducted by Jolanta Kručkauskaitė on shared sociocultural activities involving blind and sighted participants. These insights show that in such activities, blind and sighted individuals become equal participants and educators of one another. The pilgrimage route is analysed as a space where interaction occurs not only through verbal communication, but also through shared movement, trust, mutual assistance, and the sharing of lived experience.
The presentation concludes that pilgrimage routes can function as practices of social inclusion and educational interaction that reduce social exclusion, foster cognitive empathy, and create a sense of community among pilgrims with diverse experiences. This perspective expands the traditional understanding of pilgrimage and opens up possibilities for the development of more inclusive pilgrimage routes.
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Included in
D1) Pilgrimage Routes as Spaces of Interaction: Shared Experiences of Blind and Sighted Participants
Monserrat
This presentation examines pilgrimage routes as spaces of interaction in which blind and sighted participants create shared experiences by traveling together. In this context, pilgrimage is understood not only as a religious or touristic practice, but also as a sociocultural activity that enables social and educational interaction.
Drawing on the concepts of educational interaction, social inclusion, and phenomenological experience, the presentation addresses how walking together along pilgrimage routes shapes relationships between blind and sighted participants, how attitudes toward visual impairment change, and how the pilgrimage route becomes a space for mutual learning. Particular attention is given to the multisensory dimension of pilgrimage sound, touch, movement, rhythm, and embodied presence on the route which allows pilgrimage to be rethought “beyond vision.”
The presentation is based on empirical insights from a study conducted by Jolanta Kručkauskaitė on shared sociocultural activities involving blind and sighted participants. These insights show that in such activities, blind and sighted individuals become equal participants and educators of one another. The pilgrimage route is analysed as a space where interaction occurs not only through verbal communication, but also through shared movement, trust, mutual assistance, and the sharing of lived experience.
The presentation concludes that pilgrimage routes can function as practices of social inclusion and educational interaction that reduce social exclusion, foster cognitive empathy, and create a sense of community among pilgrims with diverse experiences. This perspective expands the traditional understanding of pilgrimage and opens up possibilities for the development of more inclusive pilgrimage routes.