Cultural translation in education: Experiences of difference in deaf writing

Abstract

This article presents an investigation of narratives by deaf authors intended to an audience of young people and adults, which circulate in Brazil through books written in Portuguese. Considering the study of ten books (MüLLER, 2012) of different genres, which have in common the constitution of a biographical space, our aim is to develop a discursive and documental analysis, in order to answer how and what cultural deaf marks are produced by these authors in their narratives. The investigation of the empirical material, which deals with difficulties experienced, which are also expressed in writing, allows making evident the main deaf cultural marks: the narrative of experience of the self, and deaf identity as difference. It is worth stressing that narrating in a second language, in this case, Portuguese, used by deaf users of Língua Brasileira de Sinais (LIBRAS-Brazilian Sign Language), allows translating the narratives into other cultures, legitimating the deaf discourse and increasing the potential of the deaf culture through the visibility and cultural diffusion allowed by these works. The books, here understood also as cultural artifacts, are a resource in a territory of political-pedagogical claims and negotiations. In connection with Cultural Studies in Education and with Deaf Studies, the present work continues and consolidates studies in deaf culture and education; it also problematizes power relations involved in the construction of meanings, particularly in the field of education, here understood as a process of conduction of subjects' social and individual life. This investigation is part of the studies conducted within the project Produção, Circulação e Consumo da Cultura Surda Brasileira Production, Circulation, and Consumption of Brazilan Deaf Culture.