Damned for Their Difference: The Cultural Construction of Deaf People as Disabled

Damned for Their Difference offers a well-founded explanation of how Deaf people became classified disparagingly worldwide as "disabled," through a discursive exploration of the cultural, social, and historical contexts of these attitudes and behavior toward deaf people, especially in Great Britain. Authors Jan Branson and Don Miller examine the orientation toward and treatment of deaf people as it developed from the seventeenth century through the twentieth century. Their wide-ranging study explores the varied constructions of the definition of "disabled," a term whose meaning hinges upon constant negotiation between parties, ensuring that no finite meaning is ever established. Damned for Their Difference provides a sociological understanding of disabling practices in a way that has never been seen before.