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 6:10
Monday, October 25, 2004
It's in the Genes
Researchers and Scholars Discuss Past,
Present, and Future of Genetics and Deafness
On April 2-4, 2003, historians, geneticists, and representatives of the
disability community gathered at the Kellogg Conference Hotel at Gallaudet
University, Washington, D.C., to participate in the Genetics, Disability and
Deafness international conference, sponsored by the Gallaudet University Press
Institute.
Distinguished researchers and scholars discussed a wide range of scientific,
historical, and ethical topics on genetics as related to disability and
deafness.
Drawn from this seminal conference, the Press’s book, Genetics, Disability and Deafness, edited by John Vickrey Van Cleve,
addresses these issues by bringing together essays from science and humanism,
history and the present, to show the many ways that disability, deafness, and
the new genetics can interact and what their interaction means for society. In
the introduction, Van Cleve states that, “Disability theorists have argued since
the late-twentieth century that disability is a social construct and that
cultural and political decisions, rather than biological characteristics,
restrict their full and complete participation in society.” Contrarily, “The
attitude of the general, nondisabled public is different. In the popular
imagination, disability ‘promises an unmistakable and noncontingent
correspondence between biology and the self,’ as one author has noted. The even
more radical view that biology is destiny is gaining adherents in the United
States, fueled in part by the claims of evolutionary psychologists, who view
individual realization and social interaction within a framework of supposed
evolutionary selection of biologically determined behavioral traits.”
Van Cleve sums up his opening by declaring, “These essays are offered, then, as a
way to provide context and meaning to a public discussion of difference—its
past, how it should be dealt with in the future, and what the role of genetic
counseling and genetic manipulation might be as society thinks about disability
and deafness and the public and private choices that need to be made in this age
of genomics.” You can read more about this intriguing topic in the first paper,
“The Science of Human Nature and the Human Nature of
Science,” by Pulitzer Prize-winning author Louis Menand. And, use
your exclusive subscriber 20% discount when you
order
Genetics, Disability, and Deafness.
 The
Midwest Book Review published praise for
Deaf Way
II: An International Celebration in the October 2004 issue of its online
magazine “Reviewer’s Bookwatch” In its entirety, it reads: “Deaf Way
II: An International Celebration presents 250 full-color photographs with
captions and brief essays that superbly capture a July 2002 event in which more
than 9,700 deaf people from around the world met in Washington, D.C., to share
arts, research, and languages in a cultural festival. An amazingly vivid
portrayal of people enjoying and exchanging highlights of life, experience, and
art, Deaf Way II is truly breathtaking, from its glamorous images of the
‘Thousand Hand Bodhisattva’ dance as portrayed by the China Disabled People’s
Performing Arts Troupe to behind-the-scenes glimpses from the tireless
individuals who worked so hard to make the gathering such a grand success. A
treasury and wondrous giftbook that embraces a positive message of living life
to the fullest.” You can order your copy
here.
 Language
and the Law in Deaf Communities, edited by Ceil Lucas, garnered the
following acclaim from the Journal of Deaf Studies and Deaf Education in
a recent review: “[This] is an absolutely outstanding book that is must reading
for all attorneys and judges involved with deaf individuals in cases concerned
with criminal law, school law, and disability law. It is equally important for
educators and administrators in schools attended by disabled children,
especially those who are deaf. In addition, deaf adults and parents of deaf
children would be greatly helped by the information the authors provide.” Read
the complete review
here. The ninth volume
in the Sociolinguistics
in Deaf Communities series, Language and the Law spotlights the field
of forensic linguistics and reveals how deaf people who use American Sign
Language are at a distinct disadvantage in legal situations. Read more
about these difficult experiences in chapter two,
“Trampling Miranda:
Interrogating Deaf Suspects,” and order
Language and the Law.
 The
Gallaudet University Press Institute’s fourth international conference, Narrating Deaf Lives: Biography, Autobiography,
and Documentary, will be held on November 3-5, 2004, at the Kellogg
Conference Hotel at Gallaudet University, Washington, D.C., just one week
away! Don’t miss this opportunity to join distinguished authors and scholars as
they address various facets of narrative and deaf lives presented in a wide
range of genres with concomitant analytical criticism and comment. You can
register online
or by contacting Wendy Grande at 202-651-5488. For more information about the
conference,
go to
http://gupress.gallaudet.edu/gupiconference/index.html.
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