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Thursday, September 14, 2006
The Cultural Watershed
19th and 20th Century Biographers
Bridge Deaf and Hearing Worlds
“Diversity has been a popular concept in Europe and America for several decades
now,” states Rachel M. Hartig, author of
Crossing the
Divide: Representations of Deafness in Biography. “Most of us recognize the
profound value that each culture within our larger culture brings to us: beyond
the gifts of linguistic variety, there are important challenges to our thinking
about literature, politics, and ethics. But at what point does an individual’s
assimilation into society endanger his sense of personal identity?”
The French biographers of this work, Jean-Ferdinand Berthier
(1803–1886), Yvonne Pitrois, and the Franco-American biographer Corinne
Rocheleau (1881–1963), offer interesting individual responses to this dilemma.
Although each shared a passion for narrating lives, they differed in the manner
in which they crossed the cultural divide between the deaf and hearing worlds. For Berthier, it was through his social and political activism and his scholarship.
Pitrois was dedicated to learning and telling the stories of deaf and deaf-blind
individuals with a moral end in view, and Rocheleau presented a radiant feminism,
inclusive of both deaf and hearing women.
In chapter one, Rachel Hartig explores the nature of biographical form
concluding that “in an earlier era, a biographer might write uncritically about
a friend or family member, offering praise or at least withholding information
that would be unflattering to the subject.” Contrarily, today’s biographers must
not alter historical truth.
Read it now, and
use your exclusive subscriber discount to save 20% off the regular price when
you order
online or by
mail. For online orders, type “SEP0620%”
in the “Comments or Special Instructions” box below your credit card
information.
 New
Approaches to Interpreter Education, the third installment in the
Interpreter Education
series, captures a broad range of topics and themes representing areas of
innovation in curricula for the teaching of interpreting. David B. Sawyer, Diplomatic
Interpreter and Translator with the Bureau of Administration’s Office of
Language Services at the U.S. Department of State, notes: “Much of the writing
on interpreter education, one of the main strands of interpreting studies (IS)
research, has centered on the micro-level of teaching methodology, as did
volumes one and
two in
this series, with the notable exception of Cokely (2005). Recently, this
discussion of classroom strategies has been increasingly complemented by
innovation in research on the macro level of program curricula. This volume
reflects this trend.”
Read more about this latest addition in chapter
two, “Designing Curriculum for Healthcare Interpreting Education:
A Principles Approach,” and order New Approaches to Interpreter
Education
here.
 Library
Journal published a starred review in its latest issue for
Blind Rage:
Letters to Helen Keller by
Georgina Kleege,
Professor of English at the University of California, Berkeley. “Kleege
reckons with Keller’s life, seeking the hidden backstories to particular
episodes, and, with unstinting self-honesty, tries to understand her own need to
create ‘this weird, contrived correspondence.’ Contrived it may be, but it is
never weird, and it is utterly absorbing, both in its graceful renditions of
particular days in Keller’s life and in the author’s self-analysis along the
way. Kleege is a gifted writer—her description of Keller’s final day is
wondrous. This book has a cumulative power, and the reader—whether or not
already familiar with Keller’s life—will become deeply moved...highly
recommended.” In Blind Rage, Georgina Kleege employs the use of personal
letters to delve beneath the surface of Helen Keller’s seemingly happy-go-lucky
demeanor and, in the end, comes to appreciate the individual who found a
practical way to live despite the restrictions of her myth. The
full review is
available online. Also online are the
table of contents
and an excerpt from
part one. And, you can order Blind Rage
here.
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