Deaf Gain: Raising the Stakes for Human Diversity

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Deaf people are usually regarded by the hearing world as having a lack, as missing a sense. Yet a definition of deaf people based on hearing loss obscures a wealth of ways in which societies have benefited from the significant contributions of deaf people. In this bold intervention into ongoing debates about disability and what it means to be human, experts from a variety of disciplines--neuroscience, linguistics, bioethics, history, cultural studies, education, public policy, art, and architecture--advance the concept of Deaf Gain and challenge assumptions about what is normal.Through their in-depth articulation of Deaf Gain, the editors and authors of this pathbreaking volume approach deafness as a distinct way of being in the world, one which opens up perceptions, perspectives, and insights that are less common to the majority of hearing persons. For example, deaf individuals tend to have unique capabilities in spatial and facial recognition, peripheral processing, and the detection of images. And users of sign language, which neuroscientists have shown to be biologically equivalent to speech, contribute toward a robust range of creative expression and understanding. By framing deafness in terms of its intellectual, creative, and cultural benefits, "Deaf Gain" recognizes physical and cognitive difference as a vital aspect of human diversity.Contributors: David Armstrong; Benjamin Bahan, Gallaudet U; Hansel Bauman, Gallaudet U; John D. Bonvillian, U of Virginia; Alison Bryan; Teresa Blankmeyer Burke, Gallaudet U; Cindee Calton; Debra Cole; Matthew Dye, U of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; Steve Emery; Ofelia Garcia, CUNY; Peter C. Hauser, Rochester Institute of Technology; Geo Kartheiser; Caroline Kobek Pezzarossi; Christopher Krentz, U of Virginia; Annelies Kusters; Irene W. Leigh, Gallaudet U; Elizabeth M. Lockwood, U of Arizona; Summer Loeffler; Mara Lucia Massuti, Instituto Federal de Santa Catarina, Brazil; Donna A. Morere, Gallaudet U; Kati Morton; Ronice Muller de Quadros, U Federal de Santa Catarina, Brazil; Donna Jo Napoli, Swarthmore College; Jennifer Nelson, Gallaudet U; Laura-Ann Petitto, Gallaudet U; Suvi Pylvanen, Kymenlaakso U of Applied Sciences; Antti Raike, Aalto U; Paivi Raino, U of Applied Sciences Humak; Katherine D. Rogers; Clara Sherley-Appel; Kristin Snoddon, U of Alberta; Karin Strobel, U Federal de Santa Catarina, Brazil; Hilary Sutherland; Rachel Sutton-Spence, U of Bristol, England; James Tabery, U of Utah; Jennifer Grinder Witteborg; Mark Zaurov.

Reviews

I dont have Deaf Gain, but I am one of the fortunate hearing people who has been able to witness it, so I know something of what Im missing. I believe that I am made richer by the simple fact of having witnessed the merit present in what most people still presume to be a deficit. This book elucidates that argument elegantly.Andrew Solomon, from the Foreword

"Bauman and Murray. . . remind us that deafness is a part of, not apart from humanity."Journal of Deaf Studies and Deaf Education

"The overwhelming approach is positive, optimistic, and even heroic. The concept of Deaf Gain turns on its head the usual idea that deafness should be defined through narratives of suffering and isolation. . . an excellent addition to the understanding of deafness and to the promotion of Deaf culture."Medical Humanities

Author Bio

H-Dirksen L. Bauman is professor of ASL and deaf studies at Gallaudet University. He is the editor of Open Your Eyes: Deaf Studies Talking (Minnesota, 2008) and coeditor of Signing the Body Poetic: Essays on American Sign Language Literature. He serves as executive editor of Deaf Studies Digital Journal and he wrote, codirected, and coproduced the documentary, Audism Unveiled.

Joseph J. Murray received his PhD in history from the University of Iowa and is currently associate professor of ASL and deaf studies at Gallaudet University.

Andrew Solomon is a National Book Award winner and an activist in LGBT rights, mental health, and the arts. He is the author of Far from the Tree: Parents, Children and the Search for Identity.
Tove Skutnabb-Kangas has written many works about topics including minority education, linguistic human rights, and the relationship between biodiversity and linguistic diversity.