Doctoral Dissertation Research Improvement Grant: Deaf Communities in Tanzania

博士论文研究改进补助金：坦桑尼亚聋人社区

• 批准号: 0852548
• 负责人: J. Terrence McCabe
• 金额: $ 1.44万
• 依托单位: University of Colorado at Boulder
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2009
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2009-03-01 至 2010-08-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0852548&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Doctoral; Dissertation; Research; Improvement; Grant

Graduate student Jessica Lee (University of Colorado), supervised by Dr. J. Terrence McCabe, will investigate how community is formed and maintained among deaf people in Tanzania. The research will focus on the processes that influence identity and community formation in the context of extreme marginalization and the unique situation of visual communication. The researcher will use survey, life-history and group interviews, photo visioning, and participant-observation in order to understand (1) how and when do deaf people participate in public life, (2) how are NGOs, particularly the Tanzanian Association of the Deaf, transfer points of transnational discourses about deaf identity politics and influence identity formation in deaf people, and (3) how the social contexts of living in Tanzania affect deaf people's construction of self and categories like culturally deaf, deafness, and disability. Participants will be recruited from deaf people with variable levels of association with the NGO and other deaf people. The research will compare these findings between a metropolitan city, Dar es Salaam, and a more rural location, Iringa. This research will contribute to a growing body of knowledge on communities of deaf people. It is particularly important in light of the dearth of research on people who are deaf living in poor countries, such as those of Sub-Saharan Africa. This study will also contribute to discussions about NGOs and their role in transnational networks of influence as global discourses engage with local lives. Tanzania makes for an interesting research site due to the deaf activism, the distinctiveness of Tanzanian Sign Language, and the history of NGO involvement. This project will contribute to theoretical discussions of identity and community formation, NGOs and globalization, and Deaf studies. It will be significant in applied issues like advocacy and policy formation for one of the most vulnerable and marginalized populations in the developing world, the deaf.

由J. Terrence McCabe博士监督的研究生Jessica Lee（科罗拉多大学）将调查坦桑尼亚聋哑人如何形成和维持社区。 该研究将重点关注在极端边缘化和视觉交流的独特情况下影响身份和社区形成的过程。 研究人员将使用调查，生活历史和小组访谈，照相愿景和参与者观察来了解（1）聋人如何以及何时参加公共生活，（2）非政府组织如何，尤其是坦桑尼亚的协会关于聋人身份政治和影响聋人身份形成的跨国话语的聋，转移点，以及（3）坦桑尼亚生活的社会背景如何影响聋人的自我建构和诸如文化聋哑，聋哑和残疾之类的类别。 参与者将从与非政府组织和其他聋人相关水平的聋人中招募。 这项研究将比较大都市城市达累斯萨拉姆和更乡村的Iringa之间的这些发现。 这项研究将有助于越来越多的关于聋人社区的知识。 鉴于对生活在贫困国家（例如撒哈拉以南非洲的贫穷国家）的研究的匮乏，这一点尤其重要。 这项研究还将有助于讨论非政府组织及其在跨国影响网络中的作用，因为全球话语与当地生活互动。 由于聋哑行动主义，坦桑尼亚手语的独特性以及非政府组织参与的历史，坦桑尼亚建立了一个有趣的研究地点。 该项目将有助于对身份和社区形成，非政府组织和全球化以及聋人研究的理论讨论。 对于发展中国家最脆弱，最边缘化的人群之一，聋人的倡导和政策形成等应用问题将是重要的。