RDC 2027: Everyone Has Their Own Voice. Interdisciplinary Conference

The fourth Researching the Deaf Community conference is dedicated to the multiplicity of voices within the Deaf community and the right to be heard in one’s own language.

The history of the Deaf community’s development is a history of struggle for—and the gaining of—a voice. In the course of previous conferences, the notion of the “Deaf voice” has been explored through the lens of various disciplines: in an educational context, it was often linked to spoken language and access to education; in a cultural one, to sign language as a fully fledged linguistic system and the foundation of identity; and in a socio-political one, to the right to independent decision-making, representation, and participation in society.

Photo: Gosha Bergal

The word “voice” points us towards a multitude of concepts—from the outdated term “deaf-mute” to the unique “deaf accent”. But what matters most is that the multiplicity of voices is no longer an exclusively physiological or technical category and instead becomes a matter of visibility, agency, and the recognition of diversity within the Deaf community.

The conference will take place on 4–6 June 2027 in both in-person and online formats. The programme will be shaped by the selected submissions. Working languages: Russian Sign Language, Russian, International Sign, and English.

Researchers of the Deaf community and sign language are invited to take part, as are experts and specialists from Russia and abroad: academics, consultants, undergraduate and postgraduate students, and representatives of cultural institutions, civil society organisations, and the business community.

Possible thematic areas for papers and presentations:

— Linguistics and sociolinguistics of sign languages

— Theory and practice of sign language interpreting

— Social research on the Deaf community

— Research in psychology and neuroscience

— Pedagogy and childhood studies of Deaf and hard of hearing children

— Research into Deaf culture and the arts

— Media studies of the Deaf community

— Technologies for hearing habilitation and rehabilitation

— Producing cultural, social, and educational projects

— Information technology and artificial intelligence in working with Deaf people and sign language

— Architecture and environmental accessibility for Deaf and hard of hearing people.

An almanac will be published following the conference. All materials will undergo anonymous peer review and will be indexed in the Russian Science Citation Index (RSCI).

If you would like to give a paper, please complete the registration form on the HSE University website.

Dates

Call for papers: 1 Oct—15 Dec 2026

Notification of submission results: 11–31 Jan 2027

Programme publication: 19 Apr 2027

Start of registration: May 2027

Conference dates: 4–6 Jun 2027

If you would like to receive a notification when attendee registration opens and the full conference programme, please send* your contact details to rdc@ges-2.org. You may also write to this address regarding any other matters relating to the event.

* By providing us with your personal data, you consent to our Privacy Policy.

Project team

GES-2 House of Culture

Curator of programmes for the Deaf community and accessibility
Vladislav Kolesnikov

Conference programme coordinator
Danila Chetverikov

Interpreting coordinators
Ekaterina Golovanova, Viktorina Kuzmina

Producers
Oksana Agapova, Olga Koroleva

Technical team
Olga Dudina, Artem Marenkov, Mikhail Sarkisyants

Graphic designer
Maria Vinogradova

Illustrator
Ivan Dneprov

Editors
Daniil Dugaev, Anastasia Rondareva

Head of International Relations Department
Anastasia Gvozdeva

Media specialist
Ira Popovich

HSE University

Elena Iarskaia-Smirnova—DrSci, professor of the Sociology department, head of the International Laboratory for Social Integration Research.

Nikita Bolshakov—PhD, lecturer, deputy head of the department of sociology, head scientific associate at the International Laboratory for Social Integration Research. Curator of accessibility and inclusivity programmes at the Cryptography Museum.

Maria Malofeeva—Junior Research Fellow at the International Laboratory for Social Integration Research.

Daria Syrokorinskaya—Manager of the International Laboratory for Social Integration Research.