The networked deaf : new media platforms as a new public sphere for the deaf

Abstract

The paper is based on the preliminary findings from the discourse analysis and participant observation on Polish online sites devoted to and run by deaf (www.onsi.pl, www.deaf.pl, www.glusi.pl). Using the example of the Polish Deaf Culture, I analyze the opportunities that are available to excluded groups through electronic media at the beginning of the 21st century. I conclude that for these groups, electronic media and new technologies are a chance to counterbalance the inequalities they encounter offline by creating an online alternative public sphere in which-outside, and in some cases in opposition to, the official agenda-the diversity of attitudes and identities may become visible and empowered.