Negotiating Deaf Bodies and Corporeal Experiences: The Cybernetic Deaf Subject

Thomas P. Horejes and Christopher J. Heuer
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Thomas P. Horejes: Department of Sociology, Gallaudet University, 800 Florida Ave NE, Washington, DC 20002, USA
Christopher J. Heuer: Department of English, Gallaudet University, 800 Florida Ave NE, Washington, DC 20002, USA

Societies, 2013, vol. 3, issue 2, 1-16

Abstract: Deaf people negotiate their embodiment through corporeal experiences to provide a perception of what it means to be human. Some deaf people search for a framework where being deaf is human, not a disability. Other deaf people experience their deafness as a disability and use technology as a means to negotiate their embodiment and experiences. The role of technology or cybernetics, particularly cochlear implants, for the deaf will be examined as a way to understand cultural identities and diverse ideological perspectives concerning what it means to be deaf and normal. Then, this paper focuses on social constructed ‘bodies’ for the deaf using embodied theory and action as a part of a theoretical framework to showcase theoretical ideas and actualities of some deaf people’s lives and experiences. These discussions are ways to open dialogues and collaborative inquiries on larger important issues such as what it means to be deaf and, in essence, human.

Keywords: deaf bodies; technology for the deaf; embodied experiences (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: A13 A14 P P0 P1 P2 P3 P4 P5 Z1 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2013
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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