Deaf Studies Research

Gendering Disability has actually been much more useful than I first thought it would be in my research. I'm going to start reading some texts on the ethics of interpretation and sign language for my discussion on "who can speak for whom?" in my dissertation. I'm still gathering research and reading everything I can get my hands on, but for homework, after I'm finished with Smith and Hutison's book, I've ILL'ed Melanie Metzger's Sign Language Interpreting: Deconstructing the Myth of Neutrality, Judith Roof and Robyn Wiegman's Who Can Speak?: Authority and Identity, and Fiona Robinson's Globalizing Care: Ethics, Feminist Theory, and International Relations. I will pick up Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak's article "The Politics of Translation" in Destabilizing Theory: Contemporary Feminist Debates and Linda Alcoff's "The Problem of Speaking for Others" in Feminist Nightmares: Women at Odds: Feminism and the Problem of Sisterhood on Thursday from the TWU library.

I'm thinking that the issues addressed in regard to sign language interpretation will prove useful for my research in two regards: One, I'm going to argue that "personhood" is linked closely with communication--i.e., the ability to speak and listen--determines our (in the collective sense) constructions of who is "a person" or "human" and who isn't. (My research into the Terri Schiavo case might prove very useful here.) This will also play into definitions of autism. And, deaf studies has a wealth of resources that will help me flesh out this discussion. I could transition from this discussion on "personhood" and communication to "who can speak for whom" and the ethics of representation (in regard to activism and advocacy--especially by parents in online communities.)

Back to reading...