Research: Invisible citizens. Deaf people and media narratives between inclusion and cure
I graduated in Cultural Anthropology from Sapienza University with a thesis (Costantino Nigra Award) on Deaf Studies, following a mobility program at Gallaudet University in Washington, DC. I also completed a specialization in the Anthropology of Cultural Heritage.
My research interests are Disability Studies, Deaf communities, sign language linguistics, epistemology, and social injustice. I work in the third sector on project development and accessibility.
My research examines the social representations of deafness, identity, and agency in a comparative Italy-Canada framework. For my PhD mobility I spent six months at the University of Ottawa under the supervision of Prof. Lilian Negura.
The social or bio-psycho-social model of disability shifts focus from the individual to a collective framework (Oliver, 1990), underscoring the necessity for inclusive content, services, media, and resources to mitigate inequalities. Deaf Studies reveal that the experience of deafness fosters discourses and practices that transcend the medical perspective, encompassing social identity, community belonging, and shared sign languages, values, and goals. However, limited attention has been given to how both individual and collective identity constructions serve as forms of agency that resist perceived social (and epistemic) injustices.
This study aims to explore social representations of deafness at the institutional level compared to individual experiences in a comparative context between Canada and Italy. It seeks to address the following research questions: How do the discourses and practices of deaf individuals and communities promote social representations of deafness as resistance to social injustice? How do varying social representations of deafness coexist, conflict, and interact, shaping the lives of deaf individuals?
The methodology incorporates ethnographic fieldwork within deaf communities, theoretical analysis, semi-structured interviews, and focus groups. By raising awareness and illuminating social dynamics, this research may inform public policies and services, supporting deaf individuals' demands for empowerment, agency, and autonomy.