Skip to main content
  • Home
  • About
  • Faculty Experts
  • For The Media
  • ’Cuse Conversations Podcast
  • Topics
    • Alumni
    • Events
    • Faculty
    • Students
    • All Topics
  • Contact
  • Submit
Health & Society
  • All News
  • Arts & Culture
  • Business & Economy
  • Campus & Community
  • Health & Society
  • Media, Law & Policy
  • STEM
  • Veterans
  • University Statements
  • Syracuse University Impact
  • |
  • The Peel
  • Athletics
Sections
  • All News
  • Arts & Culture
  • Business & Economy
  • Campus & Community
  • Health & Society
  • Media, Law & Policy
  • STEM
  • Veterans
  • University Statements
  • Syracuse University Impact
  • |
  • The Peel
  • Athletics
  • Home
  • About
  • Faculty Experts
  • For The Media
  • ’Cuse Conversations Podcast
  • Topics
    • Alumni
    • Events
    • Faculty
    • Students
    • All Topics
  • Contact
  • Submit
Health & Society

Campaign for Deaf Access project to host April 29-30 symposium on health care access for deaf patients

Wednesday, April 14, 2010, By News Staff
Share
College of Lawdisabilitiesspeakers

The Campaign for Deaf Access will host a symposium on April 29-30 featuring renowned scholar Lennard J. Davis, professor of disability and human development in the School of Applied Health Sciences and of medical education in the College of Medicine at the University of Illinois at Chicago. Davis will present a keynote address on Thursday and will lead Friday discussions on deafness as a disability and issues for deaf persons in the medical world. All sessions are open to the public, with sign language interpreters and CART services available.

The Campaign for Deaf Access–an interdisciplinary collaboration among the SU College of Law, SU Maxwell School for Citizenship and Public Affairs and Upstate Medical University’s Center for Bioethics and Medical Humanities–brings law, social science and medical perspectives to the study of legal, social and organizational foundations of access to health care for deaf people.

While the 1990 Americans with Disabilities Act guarantees communication access for deaf people who seek medical care, significant problems remain. Campaign participants are investigating the professional side of these encounters in order to learn more about how health care providers interact with deaf patients and how the structure and organization of medical work may promote or block access to information and care. Through interviews with health care professionals and interpreters and by studying the experiences of deaf patients, the project is learning more about the social and organizational issues involved with deaf and hearing communication in health care. Its goal is to use the knowledge it gains to work collaboratively with health care professionals to enable better access and care for deaf patients and better experiences for health care providers.

Following is the symposium agenda:

  • Thursday, April 29, 5-7 p.m.–Public lecture by Lennard Davis: “Deaf World, Hearing World: The Two Cultures,” Institute for Human Performance Atrium , 505 Irving Ave.
  • Friday, April 30, 9:15–11 a.m.–Informal discussion: “Is Deafness a Disability?” Room 341 of Eggers Hall
  • Friday, April 30, noon–1 p.m.–Brown bag lunch and conversation: “The Standard Patient? The Deaf Person in the Medical World” – Rooms 2509-2510, Setnor Building, Upstate Medical University

In addition to his faculty role at the University of Illinois at Chicago,  Davis is director of Project Biocultures, a think-tank devoted to issues around the intersection of culture, medicine, disability, biotechnology and the biosphere. Davis’ works on disability include “Enforcing Normalcy: Disability, Deafness, and the Body” (Verso, 1995) and “The Disability Studies Reader” (Routledge, 2010). His memoir, “My Sense of Silence” (University of Illinois Press, 2008), describes his childhood in a deaf family. Davis has also edited his parents’ correspondence, “Shall I Say a Kiss: The Courtship Letters of a Deaf Couple, 1936-38” (Gallaudet University Press, 1999).

Davis has also been a commentator on National Public Radio’s “All Things Considered” and has appeared on “Morning Edition,” “This American Life,” “Odyssey,” “The Leonard Lopate Show” and other NPR programs. His current interests include disability-related issues; literary and cultural theory; genetics, race and identity; and biocultural issues.

For additional information about the conference, contact Marjorie DeVault at mdevault@syr.edu or (315) 443-2346.

  • Author

News Staff

  • Recent
  • Doctoral Candidate Wins Grant for Research on Infrastructure, Violence and Resistance in Pakistan
    Friday, August 1, 2025, By News Staff
  • Co-President of Disability Law Society Eyes Career in National Security Law in Washington
    Thursday, July 31, 2025, By Jordan Bruenger
  • Lender Center New York Event Gathers Wealth Gap Experts
    Wednesday, July 30, 2025, By Diane Stirling
  • After Tragedy, Newhouse Grad Rediscovers Her Voice Through Podcasting
    Wednesday, July 30, 2025, By Chris Velardi
  • Back-to-School Shopping: More Expensive and Less Variety of Back-to-School Items
    Tuesday, July 29, 2025, By Daryl Lovell

More In Health & Society

Bringing History to Life: How Larry Swiader ’89, G’93 Blends Storytelling With Emerging Technology

Instructional design program alumnus Lawrence “Larry” Swiader ’89, G’93 has built a career at the intersection of storytelling, education and technology—a path that’s taken him from the early days of analog editing as a student in the S.I. Newhouse School…

4 Maxwell Professors Named O’Hanley Faculty Scholars

The Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs announced the appointment of four new O’Hanley Faculty Scholars: Brian Brege, Sarah Hamersma, Yüksel Sezgin and Ying Shi. Selected in recognition of their exceptional teaching, scholarly achievements and service to the institution,…

The Racket About Padel: Newhouse Students Partner With Global Media Firm to Track Rise of Sport

Why all the racket about Padel? Students and faculty in the Newhouse School of Public Communications collaborated with a global communications consulting firm to release a report about the emerging sport’s rapid rise in popularity. The report, “Celebrities, Community, Content,…

Fact or Fiction? The ADHD Info Dilemma

TikTok is one of the fastest-growing and most popular social media platforms in the world—especially among college-age individuals. In the United States alone, there are over 136 million TikTok users aged 18 and older, with approximately 45 million falling within…

Lab THRIVE: Advancing Student Mental Health and Resilience

Lab THRIVE, short for The Health and Resilience Interdisciplinary collaboratiVE, is making significant strides in collegiate mental health research. Launched by an interdisciplinary Syracuse University team in 2023, the lab focuses on understanding the complex factors affecting college students’ adjustment…

Subscribe to SU Today

If you need help with your subscription, contact sunews@syr.edu.

Connect With Us

  • X
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Youtube
  • LinkedIn
Social Media Directory

For the Media

Find an Expert Follow @SyracuseUNews
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Youtube
  • LinkedIn
  • @SyracuseU
  • @SyracuseUNews
  • Social Media Directory
  • Accessibility
  • Privacy
  • Campus Status
  • Syracuse.edu
© 2025 Syracuse University News. All Rights Reserved.