Home - Cambridge Scholars Publishing

Signs of Hope: Deafhearing Family Life
Author: Donna West
Date Of Publication: Apr 2012
Isbn13: 978-1-4438-3654-8
Isbn: 1-4438-3654-0
Signs of Hope tells the story of a narrative inquiry with three deafhearing families. For many of us, deafness represents loss and silence. For others, being deaf is a genetic quirk; an opportunity for learning, spiritual adventure and reward. For yet others, it is the most natural thing in the world; a connection to a genealogical layer of signing ancestors and the continuation of a culture. Amid the noise of mainstream, medical and educational discourses of deafness, here are family voices demanding to be heard – whether spoken or signed – that challenge audiological and surgical intervention, that call for scrutiny and critique of ‘inclusive’ deaf-related pedagogical practices, that rail against marginalisation of members of minority cultures. Over four years, Donna West has recorded the stories of three families who wish to counter and resist what they see as damaging misconceptions and discriminatory constructions of deafness and deafhearing family life. Here, spaces are created that respect and acknowledge human beings – adults, children, deaf, hearing – as storytellers. The poetic and performative narratives at the heart of this book reveal not only the ways in which hurtful definitions of, and discrimination towards, deaf people and signing deafhearing families is destabilised, but also the ways in which celebration of deaf culture and sign language are affirming and vital for healthy family life.

Donna West is a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Bristol’s Graduate School of Education. She first trained as an Art teacher before becoming a qualified teacher of deaf children. In 2001, she studied for her MSc in Deaf Studies and then worked at the Centre for Deaf Studies (also at Bristol) as a lecturer in Qualitative Research Methods before gaining her PhD from the Graduate School of Education in 2009. She has published papers on qualitative and poetic inquiry, and on sign language poetry, most recently:

West, D. & Sutton-Spence, R. (2012). Shared Thinking Processes with Four Deaf Poets: A Window on “the Creative” in “Creative Sign Language”, Sign Language Studies, 12(2);

West, D. (2011). Deaf-Hearing Family Life: Three Mothers’ Poetic Voices of Resistance, Qualitative Inquiry, 17(8);

Sutton-Spence, R., & West, D. (2011). Negotiating the legacy of hearingness, Qualitative Inquiry, 17(5);

West, D. (2009). “Strong together”: Poetic representations of a Deaf-hearing family narrative, in M. Prendergast, C. Leggo, & P. Sameshima (Eds.), Poetic inquiry: Vibrant voices in the social sciences. Rotterdam: Sense Publishers.

“This is a joyful book which takes the reader on an unexpected ride through seemingly familiar territory (families with deaf children) but which is totally transformed by Donna West’s creative approach. Her ever-reflexive eye entices us to examine the assumptions we bring to the text and makes space for us to think in different ways about the experiences we find recorded there. The book blends critical thought and poetry, history and contemporary life, identity and performance with infinite subtlety and radical scholarship. Anyone with an interest in ‘deaf lives’ will be refreshed by this book.”

– Alys Young, Professor of Social Work Education and Research, University of Manchester

“This is a beautifully written, powerful and extraordinary book which will appeal to a wide range of readers within the Deaf community and beyond. It should be read by families, professionals, practitioners, academics and policy makers and those working in organisations concerned with deafness. It should also be read by researchers who are interested in feminist and narrative inquiry – because this book is an exemplar of those approaches.

Donna West has created a text based upon her own experience of working in the field of Deaf Studies over many years; her in-depth exploration of the history of deafness; theories; practices; and methodologies, all woven together with intimate, moving stories that vividly bring alive the experience of individuals and families who live with deafness.”

– Kim Etherington, Emeritus Professor, University of Bristol

Price Uk Gbp: 39.99
Price Us Usd: 59.99

Sample pdf (including Table of Contents)

We recommend

Language and Literature
Middle-earth and Beyond: Essays on the World of J. R. R. Tolkien

History
Arctic Discourses

Education
The Supportive School: Wellbeing and the Young Adolescent

Interesting reviews

From Navigating Music and Sound Education

“We rarely have the opportunity and time to engage with the practicalities of music teaching through the lens of evidence-based practice. This book provides us with a wonderful exception that is accessible to beginning and established teachers. It contains a wide range of stimulating and thought-provoking material that draws on real-world experiences and events, which are contextualised, informed and structured by theory. This is a powerful combination that we can visit again and again for insight and inspiration. Congratulations to all involved, particularly the editors for shaping such a valuable contribution!”
—Professor Graham F. Welch, University of London; President, International Society of Music Education

“Navigating music and sound education draws together a range of issues increasingly acknowledged to be at the basis of reflective and effective music learning and teaching: social settings, cultural dimensions, gender, indigeneity, varying cognitive approaches, inter-disciplinary connections, technology, types of learning, and creativity. It opens up areas of pedagogy that go beyond classroom methodology to acknowledge student individuality and encourage music learning and teaching grounded in the reality of students’ musical and social lives. It will be invaluable for those training to become educators and for teachers already in the field.”
—Associate Professor Peter Dunbar-Hall, University of Sydney

“This book brings an important contribution to music teacher education as it challenges the readers to rethink their paradigms of music education. It highlights the importance of preparing a reflective teacher, autonomous, creative and conscious of the multifaceted and multicultural locus in which they will work. The book also draws on the importance for music teachers to consider the context in which they work, and establish a dialog between local musical traditions, informal music practices and global trends of music teaching and learning. Most importantly, all chapters are in one way or another derived from research carried out on specific areas, thus stressing the importance of the research informed practice in music education.”
—Professor Liane Hentschke, Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil; International Society of Music Education Immediate Past President

Many readers will appreciate Steve Dillon and Kathy Hirche’s description of the future of education in their work with dynamic technological contexts.

Navigating Music and Sound Education is a wonderful guide and resource for pre-service music teachers, for teachers in the field, and for teacher educators.

It offers a range of fresh perspectives on the state of music education as it is and as it might be. Kari K Veblen

Navigating Music and Sound Education is an ambitious project which features current research from 20 individuals whose professional identities run the gamut from musician to songwriter to student to educator to music therapist to ethnomusicologist. The book’s scope is perhaps the most exciting aspect of Navigating Music and Sound Education.
Kari K Veblen
University of Western Ontario
British Journal of Music Education
October 2011