“Eyeth: A Novel for the Deaf”

2013 Young, Kelsey [M.]. “Eyeth: A Novel for the Deaf.” Senior honors thesis. Gallaudet University. 279 pp. with the author’s Introduction on 5-34, a List of Characters on 35-38, and a List of Eyeth Continents and Countries in Americana on 39-41. Non-circulating at Gallaudet University Library, but the text is available online through the library catalog.

The following is from the author’s abstract. The novel “focuses on a wide range of deaf people involved in intra-deafcentric conflicts; deaf sub-groups include a range of communication preferences (speaking, cued speech, signing) as well as multiple physical differences (deaf blind, cerebral palsy, wheelchair users) though not ethnic diversity. A critical introduction to the novel explains that science fiction allows the creation of a world that does not exist as a real physical place and allows exploration of intra group issues that a mainstream context of oppression of all deaf people obscures. The introduction also relates a discussion of the countries on Eyeth to colonialism and post-colonialism theory to provide a framework to the reader for the subsequent analysis of how Eyeth uses but also subverts colonialist thinking through characters' actions. The novel itself is about a young man, Virgil G, training under the tutelage of the current Guardian of Eyeth, Shawn Wright, who ensures Eyeth doesn't stray from its original goals of being a deaf world.” Deaf female author.