[Commlist] Call for Abstracts/Articles - Diffractions on DEAF CULTURE

    Call for Abstracts | DEAF CULTURE

Diffractions - Graduate Journal for the Study of Culture

/Issue 7 | DEAF CULTURE/

Deadline for Abstracts: *July 25, 2022*

Guest Editors: Cristina Gil and Joana Pereira

The title for the next issue of /Diffractions/ seems to be yelling at 
the reader. It is not. Capitalization stands for the representation of 
sign language in writing. Moreover, in Deaf Studies the capital D in 
Deaf has been commonly used to address an ethnic minority, although this 
practice has recently become a source of debate. Nevertheless, 
capitalization is a way of putting Deaf people and signed languages 
center stage. Deaf Studies has been, from its onset, a transdisciplinary 
field of research focusing on cultural, historical, linguistic, and 
other aspects concerning Sign Language Peoples (henceforth SLPs). 
Knowledge production in Deaf Studies started in the 1970s, resulting in 
an immensely varied body of research work which focuses on sign language 
linguistics and the social and cultural dynamics of SLPs. It is now 
undisputed that they are linguistic and cultural minorities, which have 
contributed with important knowledge to the world in fields such as 
general human cognition and language processing. This has enabled 
academic discussions that are also relevant in practical fields such as 
social equity, education, language policy and accessibility. Signed 
Languages challenge the conceptions of how we understand human languages 
and the brain, and literature in sign languages has also defied 
traditional conceptions in Literary Studies. Even the surprisingly old 
tradition of simultaneous interpretation of signed languages has 
impacted research in Translation Studies. Furthermore, the power 
dynamics between Deaf minorities and hearing majorities puts into 
evidence several social tensions that underlie Deaf activism and 
associative dynamics.

We now witness the birth of the first ever issue dedicated to Deaf 
epistemologies and Deaf Studies, proposed by a Culture Studies journal. 
The issue is open to receiving abstracts/articles from several fields, 
with diverse methodological approaches, but united by an outlook on Deaf 
communities from a cultural point of view. We aim at bringing together 
articles approaching the varied spheres of the Deaf biocultural 
experience, as well as the social and political representation of d/Deaf 
people, seeking to initiate a pioneering discussion in Deaf Studies in 
Portugal.

This issue of Diffractions welcomes diversity and invites all readers to 
embark on a journey into Deaf Cultures. As Joseph Murray, a Professor in 
American Sign Language and Deaf Studies, currently the President of the 
World Federation of the Deaf, wrote:

The experience of being Deaf encompasses an expectation of participation 
in a society not tailored to Deaf norms as well as the articulation of a 
separate space of being Deaf, a space that, at times, transcends 
national boundaries. With coequality, the traditional binaries – of Deaf 
worlds and hearing worlds, of Deaf lives ‘segregated from’ or 
‘assimilated into’ hearing societies–can be seen not in opposition to 
one another, but as mutually formative. (Murray, 2008, p. 102)

We welcome abstracts/articles on, but not limited to, critical theory, 
cultural studies, comparative literature, translation studies, 
postcolonial studies, visual culture, film, media and gender studies, 
popular culture, memory studies, and sign language linguistics.

Accepted written languages are English and Portuguese. Some possible 
topics to be explored are:

~  Shared Signing Communities

~  Sign Language linguistics

~  Deaf Culture

~  Deaf Arts/Performance

~  Biopolitics and biopower applied to Deaf communities

~  Deafhood/Deaf Gain

~  The oppression of SLPs

~  Sign Language Translation/Interpretation

~  Cultural translation in Deaf Communities

~  Deaf History

~  Deaf Literature/Visuature

~  Intracultural power dynamics of Deaf/hearing people

/Diffractions/ also accepts book reviews related to the issue’s topic. 
If you wish to write a book review, please contact us through the e-mail 
address below.

Abstracts will be received and reviewed by the Diffractions editorial 
board, who will decide on the pertinence of proposals for the upcoming 
issue.  Please send abstracts of *150 to 200 words*, and *5-8 
keywords* by *July 25th, 2022,* with the subject “Diffractions 7” and 
your abstract’s title to (info.diffractions /at/ gmail.com) 
<mailto:(info.diffractions /at/ gmail.com)>.

After submission, we will get in touch with the authors of accepted 
abstracts to invite them to deliver a full paper. Please send full 
articles by *October 31st, 2022*. The articles will go through a 
peer-review process that will determine whether they do or do not 
fulfill the criteria for publication. Authors of accepted articles may 
be requested to include minor or major changes in their work.

For more information on our submission/review process please consult 
Diffractions’ website - https://journals.ucp.pt/index.php/diffractions 
<https://journals.ucp.pt/index.php/diffractions>

Particularly in this issue, we welcome submissions in sign language. If 
you are interested in submitting a video abstract, you are welcome to do 
so. The video-abstract file should be an MP4 (with H264 codec), with a 
maximum duration of 8-10 minutes and with less than 500 Mb. We accept 
video-abstracts in Portuguese Sign Language (LGP) or International Sign 
(IS). If you wish to submit in another sign language, the video-abstract 
must be subtitled or a transcription must be provided in English.

We aim to be as accessible as possible in our communication. Should you 
have any questions, remarks, or suggestions, please do not hesitate to 
contact us through the following address: (info.diffractions /at/ gmail.com) 
<mailto:(info.diffractions /at/ gmail.com)>.

Every issue of Diffractions has a thematic focus, but also contains 
special sections for non-thematic articles and reviews. If you are 
interested in submitting an article that is not related to the topic of 
this particular issue, please consult the general guidelines available 
at the Diffractions website 
(https://revistas.ucp.pt/index.php/diffractions/about 
<https://revistas.ucp.pt/index.php/diffractions/about>). The submission 
and review process for non-thematic articles is the same as for the 
general thematic issue. All research areas of the humanities are welcome.

If you are curious about Deaf Studies, we recommend three fundamental 
readings:

Ladd, Paddy. 2003. Understanding Deaf Culture in Search of Deafhood. 
Clevedon, England; Buffalo: Multilingual Matters.

Lane, Harlan, Richard Pillard, and Ulf Hedberg. 2011. The People of the 
Eye: Deaf Ethnicity and Ancestry. New York; Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Bauman, H-Dirksen L., and Joseph J. Murray. 2014. Deaf Gain: Raising the 
Stakes for Human Diversity, Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.

Quote from:

Murray, J. J. (2008). Coequality and translational deaf studies: 
Understanding Deaf lives. In H.-D. Bauman (Ed.), Open your eyes: Deaf 
studies talking (pp. 100–110). University of Minnesota Press.

*
Note: No payment from the authors will be required.

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