Review Article: The World Turned Inside Out

Abstract

In in America, Padden and Humphries have created a much needed addition to the literature on deafness and deaf people -- an account of the language and culture of people grounded in modem social science theory but produced by deaf people. In doing this they have accomplished, in Harlan Lane's terms, a look at Deaf culture from inside out and from outside in at the same time -- a miracle and a (from the book's dust jacket). Part of the delight of this book is the balance it strikes between the technical observation of the social scientist and the clear writing needed for a general audience. It also advocates in a non-strident but exceedingly effective way the right of people to create a way of life appropriate to their biological makeup. As a hearing person, I found two of their analyses to be particularly compelling: their explication of the central origin myth of North American society, and their analysis of the culturally based meaning of sound to deaf people. This latter analysis, as well as being compelling is also highly entertaining. (Incidentally, since the invention of the modem water closet, hearing boys have shared one of the dilemmas faced by their deaf counterparts, as described in in America: whether to urinate directly into the water or to aim for the side of the porcelain bowl, though the former do have hearing for monitoring the performance.