Surgical Consent: Bioethics and Cochlear Implantation

FOREWORD

This work is an edited volume by Deaf and hearing authors about issues of bioethics and deaf people. It brings together diverse perspectives on cochlear implantation in a series of essays from ethicists, educators, and Deaf leaders. The contributing authors were asked to respond to the issue of childhood implantation in relation to their discipline and a number of themes of enquiry: human rights, medical and social ethics, psychology, education, globalization, identity, life pathways, democracy, media, law, and biotechnology. Drawing on current research , they provide insight into the different responses to the high rate of implantation around the globe. Their chapters provide alternate views to the medicalized perspective of deafness overwhelmingly communicated through the media and those who work in the cochlear implantation industry. This work was also an opportunity to foreground the views of Deaf experts, their voices articulate and, at times, raw. The book is characterized by the use of social critical theories by a number of authors who seek to understand the relationships between deaf people and the dominant hearing society in which they live. It relocates what is traditionally seen as a medical issue within social, cultural, and political domains. At the same time, it attempts to disrupt the dichotomies that have long dominated the field of deafness —speech versus sign, instruction through speech and sign systems versus bilingual education, and medical intervention versus cultural membership to the Deaf community. This volume was originally conceived with the help of Markku Jokinen, Deaf academic and president of the World Federation of the Deaf. His encouragement and contacts were invaluable, and his support for the importance of this publication is very much appreciated. Linda Komesaroff Editor vii FOREWORD ...