Abstract
Deaf refugees face two simultaneous displacements. They are displaced from their homes, countries, and livelihoods by forced displacement. They are also displaced from the hearing world as deaf people and users of signed languages. Deaf refugees in Jordan navigate this double displacement by mobilizing their agency through connections to deaf networks across borders. This interdisciplinary study describes how deaf refugees are situated at the intersection of Deaf Studies, Refugee Studies, and Disability Studies. It highlights the main enabling and disabling factors of deaf refugee agency including language use and access, social capital, and intersectional power dynamics. The paper explores what implications a recognition of deaf refugee agency could have on institutional practice and policy. The aim of this study is to provide insight into how agency is mobilized by a marginalized community which is displaced in multiple ways, in this case, deaf refugees. This presentation is the culmination of PhD research conducted from 2019 to 2023. It documents and explores the experiences of deaf refugees in Jordan, primarily from Syria and Iraq. It used an inclusive research approach with deaf refugees in Amman & Irbid, Jordan to ensure research methods, knowledge creation, and outputs were led by deaf refugees as much as possible. Methods included interviews, focus groups, photo elicitation, and participant observation conducted in 2021 and 2022. This study also includes a review of the situation of displaced deaf people worldwide, collected through literature review.
Presenters
Kate Mc AuliffStudent, PhD Candidate, Oxford Brookes University, Oxfordshire, United Kingdom
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
2023 Special Focus: Agency in an Era of Displacement and Social Change
KEYWORDS
Displacement, Deaf, Disability, Agency, Language, Cultural Studies, Global Studies
