Researching the Deaf Community 2024. Interdisciplinary Conference

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

Programme 

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.

How to take part 

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.

Anastasia Gvozdeva—head of International Relations.

Mariia Vedeneeva—conference programme coordinator.

Victoria Kuzmina—accessibility programmes coordinator.

Varya Merenkova—d/Deaf community programmes coordinator.

Mikhail Sarkisiants—technical specialist.

Maria Vinogradova—illustrator and designer.

Daniil Dugaev, Anastasia Rondareva—editors.

Simon Patterson—english texts.

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.

Programme

General registration for the conference provides access to all events at the Playhouse and Central Platform. Separate registration at the information desk is required for modules held in the Classrooms.

31 May, Friday

Registration

16:30–17:00 

Conference opening ceremony

Playhouse

Artem Bondarevskii—general Director, GES-2 House of Culture (Moscow, Russia)

Vlad Kolesnikov—curator of programmes for the d/Deaf community at GES-2 House of Culture and of the interdisciplinary project Researching the Deaf Community (Moscow, Russia).

17:00–18:45

Plenary session

Playhouse

Practising designers’ perspectives on inclusive design methodologies in the interior and architectural design process for the Deaf
Rachmita Maun Harahap, PhD—lecturer of University of Mercu Buana, Faculty of Design and Creative Art (Jakarta, Indonesia)

Updating the content of professional training of educators of the d/Deaf based on the latest research
Tatyana Solovieva, PhD—corresponding member of the Russian Academy of Education, director of the Institute for Correctional Pedagogy (Moscow, Russia)

Being a Deaf woman in Bedouin society
Nuzha Allassad Alhuzail, PhD—senior lecturer at School of Social Work, Sapir Academic College (Hof Ashkelon, Israel)

The mutually facilitative relationship between sign language and the domains of acquisition of spoken language, reading and writing, word order, and spoken language grammar
Philip Thierfelder—assistant Professor, The Chinese University of Hong Kong (Hong Kong, China)
Emily Koenders, PhD—postdoctoral Research Fellow, The Chinese University of Hong Kong (Hong Kong, China)

The influence of Amharic over Ethiopian Sign Language
Eyasu Hailu Tamene, PhD—assistant Professor at Addis Ababa University (Addis Ababa, Ethiopia)

Moderator

Elena Yarskaya-Smirnova, PhD—professor at the Department of Sociology, head of the International Laboratory Social Integration Research at the HSE University (Moscow, Russia)

18:45–19:00

Break

19:00–19:45

Presentation of the study To Be or Not to Be: Theatre of (for) the d/Deaf in Modern Russia

Playhouse

Angelina Vasilenkova, Maria Vedeneeva, Pyotr Malyshev, Bronislav Skachkov—participants of the group Researching the Deaf Community (Moscow, Russia)

Moderator

Polina Zotova—curator of children’s and family programmes at GES-2 House of Culture (Moscow, Russia)

19:45–20:00

Break

20:00–20:30

Presentation of the almanac Researching the Deaf Community, vol. 1

Playhouse

Nikita Bolshakov, PhD—аlmanac editor and compiler, associate professor, leading research fellow of the International Laboratory for Social Integration Research at the HSE University, curator of accessibility and inclusive programmes at the Cryptography Museum (Moscow, Russia)

Vlad Kolesnikov—almanac editor and compiler, curator of programmes for the d/Deaf community at GES-2 House of Culture and of the interdisciplinary project Researching the Deaf Community" (Moscow, Russia)

Varvara Merenkova—almanac project manager and programme coordinator for the d/Deaf community at GES-2 House of Culture (Moscow, Russia)

Moderator

Tamara Shatula—almanac editor and proofreader, PhD in philosophy, V—A—С Press editor (Moscow, Russia)

1 June, Saturday

Registration

11:30–12:15 

Presentation of the study Practices of Media Consumption of the d/Deaf and Hard of Hearing

Playhouse

Varvara Dzyuba, Ilya Zhadan, Anna Ivanova, Varvara Merenkova, Gleb Polev, Nadezhda Shchagina—participants of the group Researching the Deaf Community (Moscow, Russia)

Moderator

Yuliya Shamsutdinova, PhD—senior lecturer at the Department of New Media and Communication Theory, Faculty of Journalism, Lomonosov Moscow State University (Moscow, Russia)

12:30–14:00

Modules and roundtables

Sign language and modern approaches to linguistic studies of the d/Deaf. Part one

Playhouse

Researching Chinese Sign Language
Lyudmila Bankova, PhD—Associate Professor at the Chinese language department, Institute of Foreign Languages, Moscow City University (Moscow, Russia)

Numeral systems in sign languages across the world
Keiko Sagara, PhD—Research Fellow of the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science at the National Institute for Japanese Language and Linguistics (Tokyo, Japan)

Negation in Fiji Sign Language
Krishneer Sen, MA—Senior Advisor on Sign Language, Interpretation and Deaf Leadership, Tetra Tech (Suva, Fiji)

Sign languages as a factor for developing dialogue-based thinking in society: from linguistic marginalisation to a positive linguistic model
Svetlana Mikhailova, PhD—Associate Professor at the department of Romance languages and Linguistic Didactics, Moscow City University (Moscow, Russia)

Sign language research activities in Hong Kong: development of corpuses, language assessment tools and online resources
Felix Sze, PhD—Associate Professor, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Department of Linguistics and Modern Languages (Hong Kong, China)

Moderator

Ksenia Golubina, PhD—Dean of the Faculty of English, Moscow State Linguistic University (Moscow, Russia)

Modern media in the land of the d/Deaf: film, music, visual art

3 floor Classrooms

Visual representation of sign language in graphic design
Sofia Alexandrova—assistant at the Centre for Inclusive Education, Moscow State Linguistic University, project manager at the training centre of the All-Russian Society of the Deaf (Moscow, Russia)

The portrayal of the deaf in the films Land of the Deaf and The Sound of Metal
Arseny Kalinovsky—fourth year student at the Directing Faculty, Gerasimov Institute of Cinematography (Moscow, Russia)

Hearing with the eyes: the role of music in the d/Deaf community
Anna Samosudova—fourth year student at the Faculty of Social Sciences of the HSE University (Moscow, Russia)

The deaf actor in “hearing” cinema
Polina Sineva—screenplay writer, creative producer, educator and psychologist of the deaf. Researcher of the representation of the deaf in mass culture, Lecturer at the Summer School of Inclusive Practice organised by the Pushkin Fine Arts Museum, and other projects.

Moderator

Nadia Turina, PhD—Associate Professor at the Institute of Special Education and Psychology, Moscow City University (Moscow, Russia)

14:00–15:30

Lunch break

15:30–17:00 

Modules and roundtables

Sign language and modern approaches to linguistic studies of the d/Deaf. Part two

Playhouse

Studying the linguistic experience of native signers
Valeria Vinogradova, PhD—Research Fellow at the Centre for Language and Brain, HSE University (Moscow, Russia)
Marina Goletskaya—third year student at the Faculty of Humanities, HSE University (Moscow, Russia)

Language planning and Ethiopian Sign Language in educational settings
Abay Tesfaye Kassie—lecturer at Addis Ababa University, Department of Linguistics, Ethiopian Sign Language and Deaf Culture Program Unit (Addis Ababa, Ethiopia)

Calibration: how people adapt their signing to others
Annelies Kusters—Professor of Sociolinguistics, Heriot-Watt University (Edinburgh, UK)

Linguistic borrowing in Libras: modalities and categorization
Rodrigo Nogueira Machado, PhD—lecturer at Federal University of Ceará (Fortaleza, Brazil)

Language specifics in the use of Ghanaian Sign Language lexicons
Marco Stanley Nyarko—lecturer at Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (Kumasi, Ghana)

Moderator

Ksenia Golubina, PhD—Dean of the Faculty of English, Moscow State Linguistic University (Moscow, Russia)

d/Deaf and hard of hearing people as creators and consumers of modern media content

3 floor Classrooms

The d/Deaf in Russian media: current problems and prospects
Ksenia Istomina, PhD—visiting lecturer at the HSE University (Moscow, Russia)

The self-presentation of deaf and hard of hearing bloggers on Instagram* (a social network owned by Meta, a company designated as an extremist organisation in Russia. Its activity is prohibited)
Ekaterina Semenova—second year student at the St. Petersburg School of Social Sciences and the Sociology and Social Informatics programme, HSE University (St. Petersburg, Russia)

The phenomenology of d/Deaf and hard of hearing people’s confidence in modern media: determining boundaries and identifying characteristics
Yuliya Shamsutdinova, PhD—senior lecturer at the Department of New Media and Communication Theory, Faculty of Journalism, Lomonosov Moscow State University (Moscow, Russia)

Moderator

Yuliya Shamsutdinova, PhD—senior lecturer at the Department of New Media and Communication Theory, Faculty of Journalism, Lomonosov Moscow State University (Moscow, Russia)

17:15–18:00 

Presentation of the study Perception of Interpreters of Sign Language by the Deaf and Hard of Hearing

Playhouse

Timofei Belov, Anna Grigoryan, Arina Stanevskaya, Nika Chupiatova, Natalia Yaroslavkina—members of the group Researching the Deaf Community (Moscow, Russia)

Moderator

Nikita Bolshakov, PhD—Associate Professor, leading research fellow of the International Laboratory for Social Integration Research at the HSE University, curator of accessibility and inclusive programmes at the Cryptography Museum (Moscow, Russia)

18:00–18:30 

Break

18:30–20:00 

Modules and roundtables

The d/Deaf Community Today: New Challenges and Opportunities

Playhouse

The development of sign language in Azerbaijan
Kamran Abasov—chairman of the Deaf Support public association (Baku, Azerbaijan)

Features of perception and thinking of the vision low deaf and the deafblind . Problems of direct and back translation of Russian Sign Language
Nadezhda Golovan—president of the Elvira society for social support of the deafblind (Moscow, Russia)

Looking to the Future. The Deaf community in 30 years’ time
Maxim Larionov—head of proceedings at the All-Russian Society of the Deaf (Moscow, Russia)

A comparative study of the experience of integrating deaf and hard of hearing in an inclusive environment in Russia and the United Kingdom
Rowena-Margaret Melmore, MA—project development manager at the charitable foundations Illustrated Books for Young Blind Children and House of the Deaf and Blind (Moscow, Russia)

Disability statistics and the employment situation in Ethiopia
Alemayehu Teferi Gudina, MA—senior project advisor, Deaf Development and Information Association (Addis Ababa, Ethiopia)

Moderator

Viktor Palenny—PhD in pedagogical science, head of the Department for Publishing and Museum Activity at the All-Russian Society of the Deaf (Moscow, Russia)

Challenges and prospects in education for members of the d/Deaf community

3 floor Classrooms

Problems and prospects in education for deaf and hard of hearing children in Russia
Elina Valeeva—biology teacher at school no. 10 (St. Petersburg, Russia)

Digital resources as a means of support for deaf and hard of hearing students in higher education
Vyacheslav Lipatov, PhD—Associate Professor at the Financial University under the Government of the Russian Federation (Moscow, Russia)

Work practice and developing social experience of hearing children of d/Deaf parents in the school environment: based on an example of participation in volunteer work
Erzhena Namzhilova—educator and psychologist at secondary school no. 7 in Mirny, Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) (Mirny, Russia)

Sign language in the secondary professional education system: approaches and problems
Natalia Otdelnova—scientific associate of the Institute of Correctional Pedagogy, Russian Education Association, special education teacher at Small Business College no. 4 (Moscow, Russia)

Concept of social integration and inclusion of the deaf and hard of hearing: comparative analysis and practical applicability
Polina Sdobnikova—fourth year student at the sociology faculty of Moscow State University (Moscow, Russia)

Moderator

Tatyana Solovieva, PhD—corresponding member of the Russian Academy of Education, director of the Institute for Correctional Pedagogy (Moscow, Russia)

2 June, Sunday

Registration

11:30–13:00

Modules and roundtables

Working with sign language: education, study, creating dictionaries

Playhouse

A dictionary of sign language: through and through
Vladimir Bazoev, PhD—lecturer at the Moscow State Linguistic University (Moscow, Russia)

Sign language recognition
Firuza Zeynaddin Mammadzada—academic advisor, ADA University (Baku, Azerbaijan)

Developing thematic dictionaries of Belarusian Sign Language in professional training of educators of the d/Deaf
Irina Rusakovich, PhD—Associate Professor at the Department of Correctional Development Technologies, Institute of Inclusive Education, Belarusian State Pedagogical University (Minsk, Belarus)

Stereotypical ideas about sign languageе
Miroslav Yasin, PhD—Associate Professor at the Department of General Humanities at Moscow International University (Moscow, Russia)

Darya Semenova—director of the Centre for Sign Language Education and Research (Moscow, Russia)

Moderator

Olga Varinova—head of the Russian Sign Language laboratory at the Institute of Social Technology, Novosibirsk State Technical University (Novosibirsk, Russia)

Sociocultural projects for the d/Deaf and hard of hearing

3 floor Classrooms

The Verbal History project as a demo-version for researching the heritage of the d/Deaf community
Lyudmila Luchkova—head of the Department for Educational and Inclusive Projects at the Garage Museum of Contemporary Art (Moscow, Russia)
Alexei Prokofiev—MA student at the Moscow Higher School of Social and Economic Sciences (Shaninka) (Moscow, Russia)

The Culture of Russian Sign Language project: communication strategies of media support
Nadezhda Lyubchenko—PR specialist of the Lyudi IN project team (Moscow, Russia)

The d/Deaf in the theatre. The practice of translating plays into Russian Sign Languag
Svetlana Murza—head of the international project Theatre without Boundaries, lecturer at the Faculty of Theatre Studies, Russian State Institute of Scenic Arts (St. Petersburg, Russia)

Rhythmical music lessons as a means for socialising deaf and hard of hearing children
Evgenia Chutchikova—president of the Voskhozhdenie (Ascent) Charitable Foundation For Targeted Assistance (Moscow, Russia)

Sociocultural projects as a source of identity for the Deaf community and representation in Russian society
Ivan Sharavin—director of the Siberia Development office for project initiatives and analysis" (Novosibirsk, Russia)

Moderator

Vlad Kolesnikov—curator of programmes for the d/Deaf community at GES-2 House of Culture and of the interdisciplinary project Researching the Deaf Community (Moscow, Russia)

13:00–13:15 

Break 

13:15–14:00

Presentation of the study Acquisition of Russian and Russian Sign Languages among Schoolchildren: Significance for Status inside the Study Group

Playhouse

Tatyana Losikhina, Makar Makarkin, Alexander Olifir, Patrisia Poleshchuk, Danila Chetverikov—members of the group Researching the Deaf Community (Moscow, Russia)

Moderator

Liudmila Zhadan—educator, philologist, teacher of Russian and Russian sign language, senior lecturer at theInstitute of Special Education and Psychology, Moscow City Pedagogical University (Moscow, Russia)

14:00–15:30 

Lunch break

15:30–17:00

Modules and roundtables

A d/Deaf person’s career. Roundtable

3 floor Classrooms

Alexei Grachev—career consultant at the My Career specialised employment centre (Moscow, Russia)
Gulnara Gorishnyaya—project manager for inclusive employment at Yandex (Moscow, Russia)
Ekaterina Nedelcho—staff recruitment and selection manager at ASHAN (Moscow, Russia)
Viktoria Sapranova—staff manager at GES-2 House of Culture (Moscow, Russia)

Moderator

Dmitry Alexeevskikh, PhD—head of the Department for Education and Employment at the All-Russian Society of the Deaf (Moscow, Russia)

Cochlear implantation: between medicalisation and Deaf culture. Discussion

Central Platform

Olga Zvonareva—clinical psychologist, CI user (Moscow, Russia)

Alla Mallabiu—mother of a deaf teenager with CI, cofounder of the Ya Tebya Slyshu [I Can Hear You] Foundation, member of the World Hearing Forum (Moscow, Russia)

Evangelina Livanova—third year student at the Faculty of Accounting, Analysis and Audit of Russian State Social University, CI user (Moscow, Russia)

Darya Shumilova—restoration architect, CI user (Moscow, Russia)

Moderator

Nikita Bolshakov, PhD—Associate Professor, Leading Research Fellow of the International Laboratory for Social Integration Research at the HSE University, curator of accessibility and inclusive programmes at the Cryptography Museum (Moscow, Russia)

17:00–17:45 

Coffee break

17:45–18:00

Conference closing ceremony

Central Platform

Vlad Kolesnikov—curator of programmes for the d/Deaf community at GES-2 House of Culture and of the interdisciplinary project Researching the Deaf Community (Moscow, Russia)

Nikita Bolshakov, PhD—Associate Professor, Leading Research Fellow of the International Laboratory for Social Integration Research at the HSE University, curator of accessibility and inclusivity programmes at the Cryptography Museum (Moscow, Russia)

18:15–19:45

Performance of MUMU. Act Three 

Playhouse

MUMU is a documentary performance in which members of the d/Deaf community share their own stories and those of other participants in the theatre laboratory that has taken place at GES-2 since 2023. Presented as a work-in-progress, the play offers an insight into the laboratory’s ongoing artistic exploration. This year, participants have focused on themes of laughter and everyday life—they explore communication between deaf and hearing individuals, awkwardness and mistakes, mistrust and complete understanding. Through humour, the performance seeks to smooth over difficulties and shed light on ways of fostering stronger connections among diverse communities.

Performers
Sultan Abdurashitov, Angelina Gazina, Nadezhda Golovan, Valentina Ivanova, Viktoriia Kutepova, Viktoriia Kuzmina, Petia Malyshev, Natasha Nesterova, Zoia Pavlovskaia, Arina Stanevskaia, Alfiia Vysotskaia