Sociological Perspectives on Deaf Identities

This chapter delineates three foundational social questions covering identity and its confluence with society. The authors, deaf academics, use these foundational questions as a framework to examine sociological perceptions of deaf identities.

These questions guide the reader to an understanding of the structure of the deaf community, where it stands in human history, and who succeeds in the greater context of society in general.

The authors integrate their own personal experiences within an academic framework grounded in sociology to explore the impact of social institutions, including the family, medical and educational systems, and the community influences on the social construction of deaf identities.