BEING & HEARING

How do deaf people in different societies perceive and conceive the world around them?  Drawing on three years of anthropological fieldwork in Nepali deaf communities, Being and Hearing shows how questions of cultural difference are profoundly shaped by local habits of perception. Beginning with the premise that philosophy and cultural intuition are separated only by genre and pedigree, Peter Graif argues that Nepali deaf communities—in their social sensibilities, political projects, and aesthetics of expression—present innovative answers to the very old question of what it means to be different.
 
From pranks and protests, to diverse acts of love and resistance, to renewed distinctions between material and immaterial, deaf communities in Nepal have crafted ways to foreground the habits of perception that shape both their own experiences and how they are experienced by the hearing people around them. By exploring these often overlooked strategies, Being and Hearing makes a unique contribution to ethnography and comparative philosophy.

Cum percep persoanele surde din diferite societati si concep lumea din jurul lor? Bazandu-se pe trei ani de munca antropologica de teren in comunitatile surde din Nepal, Fiind si auzind arata cum problemele de diferenta culturala sunt profund modelate de obiceiurile locale de perceptie. Incepand cu premisa ca filozofia si intuitia culturala sunt separate doar de gen si pedigree, Peter Graif sustine ca comunitatile surde nepaleze - in sensibilitatile lor sociale, proiectele politice si estetica de exprimare - prezinta raspunsuri inovatoare la vechea intrebare a ceea ce inseamna a fi diferit.