Histories of cochlear implantation

Journal/Book: Soc Sci Med. 1999; 49: the Boulevard Langford Lane, Kidlington, Oxford Ox5 1GB, England. Pergamon-Elsevier Science Ltd. 1257-1268.

Abstract: The cochlear implant, an electronic device by means of which some totally deaf people can be provided with a form of hearing, has been increasingly used since the early 1980s. The mass media have typically presented it as an example of the remarkable success of modern technological medicine. In France and the Netherlands, the countries on which this paper focuses, as in many others, deaf communities have rejected the technology. They have protested at its use with deaf children in particular. Rather than locating it in a history of medical progress, they have located it within a history of their own oppression. Each historical rendering is used to try to influence policy. The contest, however, is an unequal one.

Note: Article Blume SS, Univ Amsterdam, Dept Sci & Technol Dynam, Nieuwe Achtergracht 166, NL-1018 WV Amsterdam, NETHERLANDS

Keyword(s): deafness; deaf history; sign language; children; medical technology; health policy; TECHNOLOGY

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