Lately, I've been coming to wonder what exactly blogging means to me, or, rather, to those around me.
Put it this way: I could easily have set up this blog in such a way that no one would have realised that I was deaf and had a service dog. That would, of course, have raised a set of issues for me: what would happen if I happened to meet people from the blogosphere in real life? How would I be perceived as a result of this 'omission' of what most people would, I presume, consider a fairly major part of my identity, the fact that I'm deaf?
On the other hand, what does my 'admission', if you will, of my deafness mean to the readers of this blog? Does it mean that my blog is more accessible for 'normal' people because it's in written format instead of spoken words?
Even if this is your first experience with a deaf person in academia, I don't know that you can call it a 'true' experience. Blogging, just as all other (electronic) written forms of communication, such as emails and MSN, places all of us on an equal footing to a degree. We all have basic computer skills in that we know how to function within the Internet, set up a blog, type, and the like. The fact that I'm deaf or you're hearing has nothing to do with any of this. However, if we meet in person, yes, my deafness and your hearing will come into play.*
What I'm getting at is the question of whether blogging is a benefit for me and for you, dear readers, in terms of my deafness. Does blogging really let me get my experiences as a deaf graduate student across to you in a meaningful way? Does reading about my attempts to translate the 'deaf experience' for this blog give you some sense, however meaningful, of what it means to be a deaf graduate student trying to find his way through academia?
*If you ever meet me in person, I have a device called a UbiDuo, which is basically a portable version of MSN. It's brilliant, but I suppose one could legitimately note that it's almost an extension of blogging. Just ask Eaquae Legit and reidemosthenes.
1 day ago
1 comments:
Hm... more interesting questions. One really struck me: Does blogging really let me get my experiences as a deaf graduate student across to you in a meaningful way?
I'm going to have to answer "no," because of one key phrase: my experiences. I don't think any of us can ever truly comprehend your experiences, because they are YOUR experiences. I guess the questions I'd ask you in return are: What is a "meaningful way"? What do you want us, your dear readers, to better understand about your experiences?
I think it would also help if you were to clarify what you consider "the deaf experience." In comparison to some deaf-related blogs I've read, you address the issue of deafness rather minimally, and usually more in the context of your research than your experiences in navigating academia (your previous post notwithstanding).
I am curious to know what you'd want us, the non-deaf, to understand about deafness in academia. What is it? Why is it an issue? What do you have to do to navigate the waters than can be so choppy for many of us, but additionally so for you, perhaps?
But on the question of whether your blogging is a benefit to us... I would have to answer unequivocally YES! Your explanations, your very presence in the blogosphere, help to shatter preconceived notions and chip away at the indomitable force that your university's administration seems to be -- maybe not directly, but by educating those of us who are otherwise completely outside the realm of your experiences, who may in turn educate others.
Thank you for choosing to share this with us. :)
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