Languages and Lives in Deaf Communities

Although official statistics are not available, the Swiss Federation of the Deaf estimates that more than 20,000 people in Switzerland use a sign language as their primary means of communication. Yet, by international standards, Swiss sign languages are under-studied. In addition, there is a general lack of awareness about D/deaf cultures and their social and communicative experiences.

With the two-day workshop "Languages and Lives in Deaf Communities", the CSLS aims to start a public conversation on this issue. Over the course of two days, 11 international experts will present their research on various topics related to sign languages, including issues of identity, accessibility, education, multilingualism and linguistic variation. Group discussions will also take place in which audience members can ask questions and share their own experiences. The goal of the event is to make D/deaf communities more visible in all their linguistic and cultural aspects, to discuss hurdles and obstacles faced by deaf and hard-of-hearing people and to identify possible solutions, as well as to promote academic research in the field.

The workshop will take place on Friday, 18 November and Saturday, 19 November 2022 at the Konservatorium Bern and is organised by the CSLS in collaboration with the Swiss Federation of the Deaf (SGB-FSS) and the World Federation of the Deaf (WFD). Participation is free and interpreting will be provided between Swiss German Sign Language (DSGS), American Sign Language (ASL), International Sign (IS) and spoken English.

The workshop will also be streamed and remote participation is possible.

The program for the two-day event can be found here.

To register for the workshop, click here.

 

Address

Musikschule Konservatorium Bern
Kramgasse 36
3011 Bern

 

Program Friday 18th of November 2022
Time Program Presenters
09:30 - 09:45h Welcome
09:45 - 10:25h Deaf Scholars
Theme 1: Identities
10:30 - 11:10h "Sobering Thruths of Deaf Faculty of Color: Audism, Linguicism and Racism but That isn' All" Rezenet Moges-Riedel
11:10 - 11:40h Coffee Break
11:40 - 12:20h "The Global Deaf Circuit: An Entaglement of Deaf Spaces, Networks, and (un)Belonging" Erin Moriarty
12:20 - 12:50h Discussion: Identities in Switzerland and Beyond
12:50 - 14:30h Lunch Break
Theme 2: Vitality
14:30 - 15:10h "Sense of Community - the Irish Deaf Community: Results & Reflections" John Bosco Conama
15:10 - 15:50h "Deaf Interpreters and Sign Langauge Vitality" Kristin Snoddon
15:50 - 16:20h Coffee Break
16:20 - 17:00h "Minority Sign Language Contact" Robert Adam
17:00 - 17:30h Discussion: Vitality in Switzerland and Beyond
from 18:00 Apéro
Program Saturday 19th of November 2022
Time Program Presenters
Theme 3: Multilingualism & Translanguaging
09:30 - 10:10h  "Black ASL: Racism and Audism as the Origins of Variation" Joseph Hill
10:10 - 10:50h "The Social Meaning of Sign Language Mouthing in Multilingual Settings" Nick Palfreyman
10:50 - 11:20h Coffee Break
11:20 - 12:00h "Calibration" Annelies Kusters
12:00 - 12:30h Discussion: Multilingualism & Translanguaging in Switzerland and Beyond
12:30 - 14:00h Lunch Break
Theme 4: Access
14:00 - 14:40h "Access: a Bird's-Eye View" Maartje De Meulder
14:40 - 15:20h "The ANT Perspective: Understanding Access with Actor-Network-Theory" Hilde Haualand
15:20 - 15:50h Coffee Break
15:50 - 16:30h "Butterflies in the City: Deaf People, Sign Languages, and Access in Public Spaces" Joseph Murray
16:30 - 17:00h Discussion: Access in Switzerland and Beyond

Researchers

 Robert Adam
Name / Titel
Robert Adam
Funktion
Assistant Professor at Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh (Scotland)
 John Conama
Name / Titel
John Conama
Funktion
Director of the Centre for Deaf Studies at the Trinity College Dublin (Ireland)
 Hilde Haualand
Name / Titel
Hilde Haualand
Funktion
Professor at Oslo Metropolitan University (Norway)
 Joseph Hill
Name / Titel
Joseph Hill
Funktion
Associate Professor at the Rochester Institute of Technology (USA)
 Annelies Kusters
Name / Titel
Annelies Kusters
Funktion
Associate Professor at Heriot-Watt University (Scotland)
 Maartje de Meulder
Name / Titel
Maartje de Meulder
Funktion
Senior Researcher at the University of Applied Sciences Utrecht (Netherlands)
 Erin Moriarty
Name / Titel
Erin Moriarty
Funktion
Assistant Professor at Gallaudet University (USA)
 Joseph Murray
Name / Titel
Joseph Murray
Funktion
Professor at the Gallaudet University (USA)
 Rezenet Moges-Riedel
Name / Titel
Rezenet Moges-Riedel
Funktion
Assistant Professor at California State University Long Beach (USA)
 Nick Palfreyman
Name / Titel
Nick Palfreyman
Funktion
Associate Professor at the University of Central Lancashire (UK)
 Kristin Snoddon
Name / Titel
Kristin Snoddon
Funktion
Associate Professor with the School of Early Childhood Studies, Toronto Metropolitan University

Organizing Team

We gratefully acknowledge the support of our sponsors:

Swiss Federation of the Deaf · Faculty of Humanities, University of Bern · Office of Equal Opportunities, University of Bern · Max Bircher Stiftung · Paul Hess Stiftung · Swiss National Science Foundation · City of Bern, Direktion für Bildung, Soziales und Sport · Burgergemeinde Bern · sonos Schweizerischer Hörbehindertenverband · Migros Kulturprozent

Informations - Languages and Lives in Deaf Communities

Recordings