Deaf History in Central Europe. Interdisciplinary Minority History.

• Applicant: Marion Schmidt, Ph.D.
• Subject Area: Modern and Contemporary History ; History of Science
• Term: since 2020
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 440231776

Deafness is a polarizing trait. On the one hand, most hearing people consider it a disability to be prevented, treated or overcome. On the other hand, many deaf people consider the still-upheld ideal to function as almost-hearing unrealistic and oppressive. Many deaf people, especially those born deaf, consider themselves part of a cultural-linguistic minority, with a shared history that reaches back into the 18th century.For a long time, however, the history of deafness and deaf people was almost exclusively written by hearing professionals, mostly by teachers or physicians. At the same time, deafness has been – misleadingly – used as a metaphor for silence, or for an unknown phenomenon. Deaf history that includes deaf people’s perspectives and diverse acoustic experiences is a relatively young interdisciplinary field of research. It includes researchers from various historiographic subfields, but also from media sciences, sign language studies, disability studies or special education research. This interdisciplinary set-up has advantages and disadvantages. On the one hand, deaf history dynamically includes diverse methods and approaches. On the other, researchers are often isolated in their field and lack opportunities for exchange. Unlike in the US or UK, deaf history in central Europe does not yet have its own professorships, institutes, associations, or regular meetings. The goal of the proposed network thus is to bring together researchers for regular meetings and exchange. Publications shall increase the visibility of deaf history in the humanities. Through this cooperation and exchange, research gaps shall be identified and approached in different working groups that are to prepare follow-up proposals.A particular focus will be on little researched topics such as the diversity of deaf and hard-of-hearing identities and life courses, the development of different deaf communities, sign languages, and activism in national and international context, comparisons with other minority groups, and on deafness, medicine and welfare. Better researched areas, like deaf education and the history of deaf people under the nationalsocialist regime, too, still have many gaps to be explored.As part of medical, social and media history, of the history of education and language, deaf history provides insight to issues of exclusion and equality, of the claims of science and medicine versus the rights and autonomy of individuals and social groups, or of the quest for normalization versus sociocultural definitions of disability and being different.

• DFG Programme: Scientific Networks
• Co-Investigator: Dr. Anja Werner