HEARING THE D/dEAF: A GEOGRAPHICAL STUDY OF D/dEAF ENCOUNTERS IN SINGAPORE

Abstract

With the growing literature on the role of informational communication technologies (ICT) on social relations1, many geographers have alluded to the diminishing role of the physical space in terms of maintaining and developing social relations. The dominant literature often regardsthe physical and virtual spacesasmutually exclusivewhen it comes to individuals’maintenance and development of social relationships. By focusing on the Singapore D/deaf2 community, this thesis seeks to challenge this dichotomous understanding by arguing for the converse – that both physical and virtual spaces are, in fact, complementaryfor D/deaf people tomaintain existing social relations amongst D/deaf people, and to develop new social relations with hearing people. Through the use of life-story interviews, this thesis seeks to contribute to the existing literature in two ways. First, I examine how D/deafness is negotiated by D/deaf people socio-spatially in both D/deaf-centric and hearing-centric social spaces in Singapore to reveal enduring prejudices and discriminationtowards the D/deaf community. Second, Istudy how experiences of D/deafness change over time and space with the advancement of ICT (i) how ICT contributes to the expansion of new D/deaf spatiality to constitute a global D/deaf online network and (ii) how ICT encourage D/deaf people’s integration in the hearing Singapore society. Through studying the dynamics of D/deaf social relations, I argue that the complementary spacecan be seen as a thirdspacewhich offers new possibilities of challenging the medical model of D/deafness that still prevails in the physical space of Singapore.