“Made to Hear: Cochlear Implants and Raising Deaf Children”

This talk will present research based on accounts of and interviews with families who adopt the cochlear implant for their deaf children. It will go over the experiences of mothers as they navigate the health care system, their interactions with the professionals who work with them, and the influence of neuroscience on the process. In particular, the talk will reveal that implantation has the central goal of controlling the development of the deaf child’s brain by boosting synapses for spoken language and inhibiting those for sign language, placing the politics of neuroscience front and center.

 Mauldin is assistant professor of human development / family studies and women’s gender and sexuality studies at the University of Connecticut. She is also a nationally certified sign language interpreter. She lives in Brooklyn, NY and more information can be found at www.lauramauldin.com

 This event is cosponsored by the UB Center for Disability Studies, the Humanities Institute Disability Studies and Science Studies Research Workshops, Accessibility Resources, and the Medical Humanities Institute