Deaf legal theory

The DLT Method

Deaf legal theory is a somewhat new concept in legal jurisprudence. It was coined by Bryan and Emery in a chapter in Deaf Gain: Raising the Stakes for Human Diversity, published in 2014. I first came across this theory when working on my PhD thesis, and although it only had a minor mention in the end, I had the pleasure of teaching legal jurisprudence at the University of South Wales in 2014 and 2016, and was resolved to delve into deaf legal theory in more detail at some point in the future.

Fast forward to 2022, after moving to Cardiff University, the time was ripe to start delving. I created a Developing Deaf Legal Theory blog and started writing blog posts, and lo and behold within two months was invited to give a talk at the University of Birmingham’s Language and Law seminar series about deaf legal theory. I have subsequently been asked to write three entries on deaf legal theory plus case studies for a forthcoming Encyclopaedia of Language and Law. The deaf legal theory project was gaining traction and is certainly considered to be an important area to develop, and is attracting attention from scholars in other parts of the world.

What was interesting was the realisation that all the research I’ve done to date - equality law, sign language interpeters and translators and deaf education - all fit within the parameters of deaf legal theory. Any future research I do will undoubtedly also fall within the deaf legal theory project, provided of course that I focus on deaf people.

For further updates on this project, check out the Developing Deaf Legal Theory blog.

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The BDA's BSL Audit: what should do the Welsh Government do next?

The British Deaf Association (BDA) published its audit of the Welsh Government's policies and approaches against the five commitments of their BSL Charter on 14 February 2023. The BDA recommends the following: A BSL Act in Wales giving sign language communities and Deaf people full citizenship in cultural, social and political contexts; Restructure Deaf education with a national BSL plan; Ensure hearing people and families of Deaf children can learn BSL; Put BSL/English interpreting on a statutory footing; To establish a BSL working group; Collect statistics relating to the socio-economic situation of BSL users; and Create a Facebook group to gather evidence from the Deaf community. The ball is now in the Welsh Government's court. Progress has already been made with the appointment of a Disability and BSL Policy Manager in Government, who is tasked with implementing the BDA's recommendations. In terms of next steps, while the Government has made clear that the Disability

Welcome

Welcome to my new blog. It has been some time since I blogged, but as an academic it is obviously important that I write as much as possible. While the focus will be on academic pieces of work such as journal articles, book chapters, a monograph or manuscripts, the general consensus within the academic community is that any writing is good, and this blog is a way for me to: keep writing/putting my thoughts into something more concrete, to disseminate ideas in the hope that I will receive feedback via the comments, and in the process updating visitors to my website on my current research projects and initiatives. Check back regularly for updates, and if you would like to make any suggestions or work with me, please get in touch on email WilksR2@cardiff.ac.uk , via Twitter ( @rwilks ), or LinkedIN .

Dr Rob Wilks

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