Reversed alterity: Deaf depictions of hearing people

Research shows that throughout one’s life Deaf identities transform thus, being complex endless processes and provoking transformations in the self, but also allowing for an ever-changing perception of the other. In the Deaf World, the other is the one who hears, hence the term hearing or hearies, as Deaf academics Carol Padden and Tom Humphries (1988) point out. Some use the word to mention the hearing majority who ignore the existence of Deaf Culture and overall, the Deaf World. Another level of representation is the hearing-but described as a hearing person that learned sign language and respects Deaf Culture (Holcomb 2013).
Postcolonial literature is a common testimony of alterity. By the 1980’s Deaf Community in the United States was a flourishing hub of activism and creativity by Deaf artists. The perception about their own status as a linguistic cultural minority had reached a peak. It is in this atmosphere that Islay is written by Douglas Bullard – a Deaf writer (1986). Islay is an impressive utopian novel that precedes the great activist movement like Deaf President Now that revolutionized and inspired the Deaf World. Islay became widely acclaimed in the American Deaf Community, as a canonical work in Deaf Literature (Peters, 2013). This article will be the first interpretation of alterity and representation of the hearing in Islay as an essential work of Deaf Literature and representative of a construct that may still resonate in Deaf people to this day, helping us to better understand the intricacies of the Deaf World.
Keywords: Alterity, Deaf Literature, Islay, Deaf World, Hearing