'Inte' at intersections: deaf and hard-of-hearing mainstreamed Japanese youth and the search for belonging

McGuire, JM

Oxford Thesis Collection

Thesis

'Inte' at intersections: deaf and hard-of-hearing mainstreamed Japanese youth and the search for belonging

Abstract:: This dissertation explores the lived realities of young deaf and hard-of-hearing (DHH) Japanese who were educated in mainstream schools. Colloquially known as 'inte', a shortened form of the loanword 'integration', these youth are poised at intersections: between special education and academic integration, deaf and hearing, and signed and spoken languages. This study focuses on how participants negotiate this distinct positionality. Inte are 'the other' in the private sphere of the family and the public sphere of the school. I aim to illuminate how inte negotiate this in-between status as they search for belonging. The integration of DHH students is a relatively recent phenomenon. For nearly 100 years, deaf students were educated in separate educational institutions. Therefore, I begin by situating the inte's experiences in a historical and comparative context by exploring the shifts in educational trends for DHH students and the debates regarding the most appropriate communication modalities for their education. I argue that the first phase of integration does not occur within schools but within the home. Inteare typically born into families in which the taken-for-granted shared vertical (inherited) identity and language must be re-examined and re-configured. As a minority in mainstream schools, inte demonstrate agency by employing 'covering' strategies to mitigate difference and perform 'communication competence'. Upon encountering signing DHH peers, inte re-evaluate their positionality and sense of self. By utilizing a number of methodological approaches, including an approach developed for this research, 'peer interviews', this dissertation contributes to the understanding of anthropological concepts of belonging, personhood, intimacy, 'passing' and identity. Through an actor-centered approach that concentrates on the voices of 'youth', I explore how members of this marginalized group in society (re)negotiate their position in the mainstream.

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APA Style

McGuire, J. M. (2017). 'Inte' at intersections: deaf and hard-of-hearing mainstreamed Japanese youth and the search for belonging [PhD thesis]. University of Oxford.

MLA Style

McGuire, JM. 'Inte' at Intersections: Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing Mainstreamed Japanese Youth and the Search for Belonging. 2017. University of Oxford, PhD thesis.

Chicago Style

McGuire, JM. 2017. “'Inte' at Intersections: Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing Mainstreamed Japanese Youth and the Search for Belonging.” PhD thesis, University of Oxford.
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