Item – Theses Canada

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OCLC number
56805811
Author
Lachance, Nathalie,1966-
Title
Analyse du discours sur la culture sourde au Québec : fondements historiques et réalité contemporaine.
Degree
Thèse (Ph. D.)--Université de Montréal, 2003.
Publisher
Ottawa : National Library of Canada = Bibliothèque nationale du Canada, [2004]
Description
5 microfiches
Notes
Comprend des références bibliographiques
Abstract
Based on qualitative research conducted among Montreal's Deaf, this study analyzes the construction, production and diffusion of Deaf culture. It shows how identification with Deaf culture is grounded in a socio-historical and theoretical context extending far beyond deafness. As it addresses historical and contemporary issues, this research made use of various sources of information, including written records, semi-directed and directed interviews and fieldwork within the Deaf community. One major conclusion is that the perception of two separate identities (Deaf and hearing) originates from the social exclusion experienced by the Deaf. This exclusion is based on the constructed image of the Deaf as incompetent and dependent individuals. The Deaf have responded to this image by creating an opposite, positive image of Deafness among themselves. Thus, the implementation of distinct identities and the creation of a border between a Deaf "Us" and a hearing "Them" took shape through multiple political, social, and economic interactions. The particular interests of various social actors has also played a role in the development of the concept of Deaf culture. The construction of the concept of Deaf culture cannot be understood outside these interactions, and its theoretical definition is influenced by the wider social context and by individual and group interests. The discourse emerging from the interviews on the subject of bilingual-bicultural education for the Deaf shows that the acceptance or rejection of the Deaf cultural reality has consequences on the application of this educational approach On the one hand, when deafness is seen as a deviance, bilingual-bicultural education must correct such a deviance, and Quebec Sign Language becomes a tool without any particular status within the school. On the other hand, when deafness is perceived as a cultural paradigm, bilingual-bicultural education becomes an educational approach that takes into consideration cultural difference and that recognizes the linguistic and cultural identity of the Deaf. When the concept of Deaf culture appeared in Quebec to point out the characteristics that distinguish the Deaf as a collectivity, it was constructed in a dialectic relation between the established norm of the majority group and the identity constructed in opposition by the Deaf. Thus, the concept of Deaf culture is strongly influenced by the social contexts through which it emerged and this thesis demonstrates that this concept is socially, politically, and historically defined.
ISBN
0612849929
9780612849921