Introduction

The object whose story I plan to tell will be the novel “Blindness” by José Saramago. The fictional illness is a highly contagious disease characterized by one devastating symptom: complete loss of vision. The illness is integral to the novel’s construction as it is precisely through this sudden and inexplicit loss of vision that Saramago portrays philosophical themes such as moral conscience as well as social themes such as the nature of self identity.

The origins of Saramago’s fictional illness is not based on an existing real world illness. That being said, we can draw some historical context here in that there have been real diseases which have ravaged societies in the past; and that the digital artifacts pertaining to such said diseases ought to have served as motivating illustrations to Saramago’s disease. For example, the cities and villages ravaged by the 14th Century Bubonic Plague. 

I plan on shaping my exhibit by first highlighting key excerpts from the novel and, through literary analysis, demonstrate how the excerpts are connected to Saramago’s overarching philosophical themes. Afterwards, I will present related digital artifacts and secondary sources to provide greater context and establish more meaningful connections.