Toward an "Archeology of Deafness": Etic and Emic Constructions of Identity in Conflict

Michel Foucault's concept of "archeological thinking" as a means of "making it possible to think difference" is used in this article as an organizing framework for conceptualizing the conflict between the multiple, competing social and individual constructions of deaf identity. The substantial literature dealing with deaf culture in the United States is used to explore the nature and characteristics of etic and emic constructions of deafness. Among the differences examined are the cultural, ideological, and linguistic differences that separate various constructions of deafness. In this article I emphasize the social, political, and educational implications of the different constructions of deafness.