The Deaf Biosocial Condition: Metaparadigmatic Lessons From and Beyond Vygotsky's Deaf Pedagogy Research

Lev Vygotsky (1993) described deaf ontology as dynamic interactions that uniquely but inexorably synthesize biology and society. The deaf biosocial condition is a deceptively simple theory. Principally, it clarifies imbricated issues of axiology, power, and knowledge by centering positive adaptive compensations that sublate deafness. Using Vygotsky's theoretical proposals, I organized four distinct paradigms of deaf research and analyzed a historical case of sign language deprivation from Soviet Russia in the 1930s. On the basis of this critical literature review and case analysis, I posit that a paradox of inclusion comprises the heart of deaf education, which forces stakeholders to make choices about ethics and evaluate their consequences. Vygotsky urges practitioners to reject disablement and pathology and instead to uplift visuality and multimodality. These foundational values disrupt harmful conditions, improve teaching and learning, and encourage deaf people to transform the deaf body and mind through society.