Deaf legal theory is a somewhat new concept in legal jurisprudence. It was coined by Bryan and Emery in a chapter in Deaf Gain: Raising the Stakes for Human Diversity, published in 2014. I first came across this theory when working on my PhD thesis, and although it only had a minor mention in the end, I had the pleasure of teaching legal jurisprudence at the University of South Wales in 2014 and 2016, and was resolved to delve into deaf legal theory in more detail at some point in the future.

Fast forward to 2022, after moving to Cardiff University, the time was ripe to start delving. I created a Developing Deaf Legal Theory blog and started writing blog posts, and lo and behold within two months was invited to give a talk at the University of Birmingham’s Language and Law seminar series about deaf legal theory. I have subsequently been asked to write three entries on deaf legal theory plus case studies for a forthcoming Encyclopaedia of Language and Law. The deaf legal theory project was gaining traction and is certainly considered to be an important area to develop, and is attracting attention from scholars in other parts of the world.

What was interesting was the realisation that all the research I’ve done to date – equality law, sign language interpeters and translators and deaf education – all fit within the parameters of deaf legal theory. Any future research I do will undoubtedly also fall within the deaf legal theory project, provided of course that I focus on deaf people.

For further updates on this project, check out the Developing Deaf Legal Theory website.