Deaf Literature Scholar
Arlington Heights, IL
June 2014, four weeks
Raised in Arlington Heights, Illinois, Rachel Mazique grew up in a mixed deaf and hearing family. Because her parents and older brother are deaf, Mazique’s first language was American Sign Language; she used spoken English with her hearing relatives. Mazique herself was diagnosed with progressive hearing loss at five years old. Mazique specializes in Deaf literature, Deaf studies, and disability studies. By examining the portrayal of Deaf ethnicity, or “Deafnicity,” in transatlantic Deaf literature, her work asks how this literature engages “rights” discourses, including disability rights, human rights, group rights, as well as bioethical issues.