Exploring the Deaf Community: a conference that brought together more than 150 scientists, practitioners and young researchers from different countries and regions of Russia
From May 31 to June 2, 2024, the Second Annual Interdisciplinary Conference “Exploring the Deaf Community” was held, organized by the House of Culture GES-2 together with the International Laboratory for Social Integration Studies of the HSE.
![Participants of the Second Annual Interdisciplinary Conference "Exploring the Deaf Community"](/data/2024/06/04/2130417017/IMG_6748.JPG "Participants of the Second Annual Interdisciplinary Conference "Exploring the Deaf Community"")
During the three days of the conference, 19 different events were organized at the House of Culture GES-2: sections, discussions, round tables, as well as a theatrical production based on the personal stories of people from the deaf community - participants in the theater laboratory, which has been held at GES-2 since 2023.
More than 100 participants – moderators and speakers – shared the results of empirical research, practical experience, personal impressions of the difficulties that the deaf community faces today in educational, cultural, labor and other spheres, developing differently in the regions of Russia and beyond. For example, in many regions of our country there is a shortage of sign language interpreters, stereotypical ideas and difficulties in recognizing gestures in educational institutions, in the sphere of labor and employment. In several sections, speakers presented a comparative study of international experience in integrating deaf and hard of hearing people in the above-mentioned spheres. A critical analysis of the cases allowed the participants and viewers to exchange opinions, focus on common goals and specific tasks that take into account the context, the capabilities of the regions in supporting inclusive and integration processes
On the second day of the conference, several sections opened: "Sign Language and Modern Approaches to Linguistic Research of the Deaf", "Modern Media in the Land of the Deaf: Cinema, Music, Visual Art", "Deaf and Hard of Hearing People as Creators and Consumers of Modern Media Content", "The Deaf Community Today: New Challenges and Opportunities", "Working with Sign Language: Education, Study, Dictionary Creation". Participants spoke about research into the vocabulary of Chinese, Fijian, Ghanaian, Ethiopian, and Brazilian sign languages. Papers were presented on cinema and music in the lives of deaf people, and on their use of modern media in everyday life. At the section dedicated to education and work with sign language, teachers from universities, secondary vocational education institutions and secondary comprehensive school teachers spoke about successful practices of using digital resources in teaching deaf and hard of hearing schoolchildren and students, their experience of involving them in volunteer activities, and discussed barriers and ways to overcome them at different stages of education for deaf and hard of hearing children
Participants of the "Exploring the Deaf Community" circle (Timofey Belov, Anna Grigoryan, Arina Stanevska, Nika Chupyatova, Natalya Yaroslavkina) presented the results of the study "Perception of sign language interpreters by deaf and hard of hearing people", which was conducted to identify and describe the factors influencing the choice of a sign language interpreter by representatives of the deaf community and the situations in which they use translation services. Another important task of the research group was to study the interaction between interpreters and the deaf. The project was implemented under the supervision of Nikita Bolshakov, a leading research fellow at the International Laboratory for Social Integration Research at the HSE, and with the active participation of the Laboratory’s research intern Maria Malofeeva, who consulted the circle’s participants at various stages of the joint research.
According to our colleague, Marina Aleksandrova, a lecturer at the Department of Sociological Research Methods, “I was deeply touched by this conference: firstly, everything was well-coordinated and even aesthetically beautifully organized; secondly, the reports were filled with deep content and, despite my lack of similar research experience, I followed the development of the discussions with great interest. Lastly, and most importantly, I met the deaf community for the first time, and this became an inspiring research and cultural experience for me. It seems to me that we need to meet different people, their different life experiences and worldviews. I am grateful to the organizers; all my impressions are thanks to their work.”
On the final day of the conference, the sections "Working with sign language: education, study, creation of dictionaries" and "Sociocultural projects for the deaf and hard of hearing" were held, as well as a round table "Career of a deaf person" and a discussion platform on the topic "Cochlear implantation: between medicalization and culture of the deaf". The participants of the events shared their experience of working with stereotypical ideas about sign language, ideas about the development of thematic dictionaries, spoke about the implementation of sociocultural projects in different Russian regions, including music and rhythm, theater classes, which are tools for the socialization of deaf and hard of hearing people. Among the speakers were also the heads and employees of large Russian companies - Yandex, Auchan LLC, as well as the employment center "My career" and the V-A-C fund and the House of Culture "GES-2", participating in the discussion of issues of career prospects for deaf people. In the discussion "Cochlear implantation: between medicalization and deaf culture" speakers could share personal stories about hearing correction, ways of experiencing in different social conditions and accepting this experience, the importance of supporting yourself and others who need habilitation after surgery and at further stages of life with a cochlear implant.
The moderator and organizer of this and many other events of the conference, leading researcher of the International Laboratory for Social Integration Research at the HSE Nikita Bolshakov, shared his impressions of the work of the discussion and the conference as a whole - "We were very worried when adding this discussion to the program, because any conversation about hearing aids will be of a medical nature, while many conference participants, especially foreign guests, adhere to social and cultural views on deafness, but the discussion was able to show that we have much more common ground for discussion than it might seem at first glance. In fact, the conference is aimed at building bridges and breaking down barriers. To bring together in one place deaf, hard of hearing and hearing people, sign language speakers and non-sign language speakers, early career researchers and PhDs, people from different continents and their different professional fields.
At the closing, Vlad Kolesnikov, curator of programs for the deaf community of the V-A-C fund and the House of Culture "GES-2" and the interdisciplinary project “Exploring the Deaf Community,” noted: “We managed to discuss a lot during the three days of our conference: issues of self-determination, employment and educational practices. This year, we turned to foreign experience, inviting researchers and practitioners from other countries, which allowed us to unite deaf communities and expand our understanding of the deaf community and culture.”
The conference ended with a theatrical performance “MUMU. Act Three, in which participants of the GES-2 theatre laboratory – Sultan Abdurashitov, Alfiya Vysotskaya, Angelina Gazina, Nadezhda Golovan, Valentina Ivanova, Victoria Kuzmina, Victoria Kutepova, Petya Malyshev, Natasha Nesterova, Zoya Pavlovskaya, Arina Stanevskaya spoke about the communication of the deaf and hearing, filled with a lot of similarities and contradictions, mutual understanding and awkwardness, mistakes and the desire to understand and support each other.
According to the head of the International Laboratory for Social Integration Research at the HSE, Professor Elena Iarskaia-Smirnova, – “The performance “MUMU. Act Three”, performed in the verbatim genre, with subsequent reflection on the theatrical culture of the deaf, helps people with different life experiences to get to know and understand each other better, and having understood, to endlessly admire the talent, potential, and desire of each of us for a full and bright life. I am very happy to realize the fact that it is in the process of cooperation between our laboratory and GES-2, in the course of preparing research projects, working in scientific circles, writing articles and publishing them in the almanac that the foundations of a new direction for Russian science are being laid – DEAF STUDIES, or DEAF RESEARCH. This is an interdisciplinary direction that is developing all over the world, and now our country is beginning to make an increasingly active contribution to it – and all this is happening very organically with the unification of the efforts of different people: the deaf and the hearing, the community and universities, leaders of public, cultural and scientific organizations. We in our laboratory are proud that we not only observe this phenomenal intellectual and social movement, but also have the honor of participating in it."
Our Laboratory wholeheartedly expresses its appreciation, gratitude and admiration to the management of the V-A-C fund and the House of Culture "GES-2", representatives of the conference organizing committee, wonderful volunteers, talented interpreters of international signs and Russian sign language, moderators, participants of discussions, sections, round tables for the incredible preparation, organization, creation of such a unique forum for communication between deaf and hearing people! We sincerely hope for further cooperation and participation in each other's projects!