Description
This collection of 19 articles by leading and emerging scholars, the majority of whom are deaf, considers physical and cultural boundaries of deaf places and analyzes the complex relationships of deaf identities with gender, sexuality, disability, family and race. Contributors address the framework(s) of deaf studies, including the nature of colonialism and resistance in the history of deafhood as well as the nature of deaf convert culture and deaf theory, deaf perception and community as an outcome of study of coequality and transnational studies, language and literacy, including critical pedagogy and ASL videobooks, the decline of deaf clubs in the US, intersections and identities, as in dysconscious audism and the need for deaf "herstory," and the question of disability, including whether people who are deaf have a disability. Annotation ©2008 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)
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This groundbreaking volume introduces readers to the key concepts and debates in deaf studies, offering perspectives on the relevance and richness of deaf ways of being in the world. In Open Your Eyes, leading and emerging scholars, the majority of whom are deaf, consider physical and cultural boundaries of deaf places and probe the complex intersections of deaf identities with gender, sexuality, disability, family, and race. Together, they explore the role of sensory perception in constructing community, redefine literacy in light of signed languages, and delve into the profound medical, social, and political dimensions of the disability label often assigned to deafness.Moving beyond proving the existence of deaf culture, Open Your Eyes shows how the culture contributes vital insights on issues of identity, language, and power, and, ultimately, challenges our culture’s obsession with normalcy. Contributors: Benjamin Bahan, Gallaudet U; Douglas C. Baynton, U of Iowa; Frank Bechter, U of Chicago; MJ Bienvenu, Gallaudet U; Brenda Jo Brueggemann, Ohio State U; Lennard J. Davis, U of Illinois, Chicago; Lindsay Dunn, Gallaudet U; Lawrence Fleischer, California State U, Northridge; Genie Gertz, California State U, Northridge; Hilde Haualand, FAFO Institute; Robert Hoffmeister, Boston U; Tom Humphries, U of California, San Diego; Arlene Blumenthal Kelly, Gallaudet U; Marlon Kuntze, U of California, Berkeley; Paddy Ladd, U of Bristol; Harlan Lane, Northeastern U; Joseph J. Murray, U of Iowa; Carol Padden, U of California, San Diego.H-Dirksen L. Bauman is professor and director of the graduate program in Deaf Studies at Gallaudet University. He is coeditor of Signing the Body Poetic: Essays in American Sign Language Literature, executive editor of the Deaf Studies Digital Journal, and executive producer and codirector of the documentary film Audism Unveiled.
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