8 November 2010
The Centre for Deaf Studies (CDS) has been successful in obtaining a grant of nearly £140,000 from the Leverhulme Trust to undertake research into Deaf people's concerns about the advances of genetic technology. This is thought to be the UK's first ever Deaf-designed and led social sciences research project, and we are grateful to the Trust for their enlightened support.Adopting both 'insider researcher' and 'studying up' methodologies, the two year project will examine the hegemonic medical model discourse of 'deafness' through the lens of the new 'Deafhood' concept pioneered by CDS. It will locate and examine evidence concerning both Deaf and hearing people's fears that, if left unchecked, genetic technology could speed up liberal eugenicist social policies, as manifested in the discourses surrounding the passing of the recent Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill, approved by the UK Parliament in 2008.
The findings will be of great value, not only to sign language using communities, but also to other sectors of society involved in or concerned about genetic discourses. Application of the Deafhood lens to this crucial contemporary development will also enable the special cultural perspectives and contributions to human knowledge offered by these visuo-gestural-tactile peoples to be more widely appreciated.
The project commences in October 2010, led by Dr Paddy Ladd, with Dr Steven Emery as Research Associate and Clive Mason as Researcher.
For more information about this project please contact:
Notes to editors:
The Leverhulme Trust was established in 1925 under the Will of the first Viscount Leverhulme. It is one of the largest all-subject providers of research funding in the UK, distributing funds of some £50 million every year. For further information about the schemes that the Leverhulme Trust fund visit their website at www.leverhulme.ac.uk
