Work

This is our rhythm: academic becoming and realignment in deaf space

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: Deaf scholars have long worked at the margins of academic institutions not designed for them. Designated deaf academic spaces-where deaf ways of knowing, teaching, and communicating are centered-remain rare. This study explores what becomes possible when such a space exists, presenting Dr Deaf as a case study. Drawing on interviews with participants and teachers, we show how deaf epistemologies and pedagogies are enacted through cross-stage responsibility and academic becoming through re-alignment of deaf participants and teachers. We also identify a distinct deaf rhythm that emerges in this space. At the same time, we recognize that these practices are not experienced or valued equally by all participants and teachers: needs, priorities, and ways of engaging differ, and Dr Deaf's approaches may not resonate for all. Yet its values offer a flexible framework for imagining and sustaining other deaf academic and broader educational spaces.

Source: The Journal of Deaf Studies and Deaf Education

DOI: 10.1093/jdsade/enaf061

Authors: Maartje De Meulder, Joseph J Murray, Annelies Kusters

Institutions: University of Applied Sciences Utrecht, Gallaudet University, Heriot-Watt University

Language: English

Topic: Hearing Impairment and Communication

Subfield: Developmental and Educational Psychology

Field: Psychology

Domain: Social Sciences

SDGs: Quality education, Reduced inequalities

Open Access status: hybrid

Estimated APC paid: $4,363