Researching the Deaf Community 2024. Interdisciplinary Conference

The annual forum devoted to social, cultural, and linguistic features of the d/Deaf community.

How to take part 

The interdisciplinary conference “Researching the Deaf Community” is held by GES-2 House of Culture in association with the International Laboratory for Social Integration Research at the Higher School of Economics (HSE). This year particular attention will be given to international experience.

For additional information, write* to us
at rdc@ges-2.org.

* By providing us with your personal data, you consent to its processing in accordance with our privacy policy on personal data.

Illustration: Ivan Dneprov, Masha Vinogradova

The d/Deaf community is a unique example of a social group with special cultural traditions, linguistic standards, and social practices. The attitude to the deaf and hard of hearing has been reassessed in recent years: deafness has ceased to be perceived exclusively in a medical context, as a disability, and the unique culture of the Deaf and the linguistic independence of sign language have been recognized. An increasing number of sociologists, educators, linguists and specialists in other disciplines are realizing projects in the interdisciplinary field of Deaf Studies, which arose in the second half of the twentieth century.

GES-2 runs the interdisciplinary project Researching the Deaf Community, which supports the formation of Deaf Studies, a new discipline for Russia, and also carries out fundamental and applied studies on relevant problems of the d/Deaf community and issues of Deaf culture, sign language, education and the identity of the community’s members. Since 2022, a group of the same name has been operating under the project. Last May, group participants, teenagers and young adults, presented the results of their work at the First Interdisciplinary Conference “What does it mean to be d/Deaf? New challenges for the community.” The conference also featured over twenty presentations examining the social, cultural, and linguistic bases for the functioning of the d/Deaf community.

This year, the programme of the three-day forum will include both separate presentations and roundtables discussing the sociological historical and linguistic aspects of the d/Deaf community, and discussions on materials prepared by members of the group “Researching the Deaf Community: 2023/2024.” A collection of studies from the first conference will also be presented.

The conference will be held at GES-2, with the opportunity for speakers in individual modules to participate online. A collection of articles will be published after the conference, in which all materials will be reviewed anonymously.

We invite researchers of the d/Deaf community and sign language to take part in the conference, and also specialists on the theory and practice of social integration from Russia and abroad: scientists, consultants, practitioners, students and post-grad students, members of cultural institutions, public organisations, and the business community.

Areas of conference work

- Sign language and modern approaches to the linguistic study of the d/Deaf
- Prospects for developing the labour sphere and employment of the d/Deaf
- New practices of the deaf in the era of technologisation and digitalisation
- Culture and identity of the deaf and hard of hearing
- Representation of deafness in mass culture and the media sphere
- Sign language in education: transformation of ideology and practices
- The well-being, independence and health of the deaf in the context of socio-economic transformations
- Modern approaches to the methodology of researching the d/Deaf community
- Transformation of methods and practices of interpreting with sign language: old difficulties and new challenges

How to take part

Deliver a presentation

Until 24 March inclusive, complete the registration form on the HSE website

Hold your own module on a topic connected with the d/Deaf community or sign language

Send* an email with the subject “RDC 2024” to rdc@ges-2.org, indicating

- the proposed topic of the module;
- summaries of presentations by at least three speakers representing different institutions.

Propose a topic for a round table or open discussion

Send an email with the subject “RDC 2024” to rdc@ges-2.org, indicating:

- proposed format, topic, and brief description of the meeting;
- list of potential participants (at least three people representing different institutions) who have already agreed to take part.

Listen to the presentations and take part in discussions

The registration form will be posted on our website in early May. Provide us with your contact details and we will send you a link.

Form 

Project team

GES-2
House of Culture

Oksana Agapova, Olga Koroleva — producers.

Vlad Kolesnikov — curator of programmes for the d/Deaf community and accessibility for the d/Deaf and hard of hearing .

Serafima Monakhova — media specialist.

Higher School of Economics

Natalya Baisha — intern researcher at the International Laboratory for Social Integration Research.

Nikita Bolshakov — PhD in sociology, 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.

Elena Yarskaya-Smirnova — Doctor of sociology, professor of the Sociology department, head of the International Laboratory for Social Integration Research.