Seminars in Hearing Research

Date: Thursday, March 12, 2026

Location: Zoom   https://purdue-edu.zoom.us/j/4326340458 Meeting ID: 432 634 0458

Time: 12:00-1:00pm

Speaker: Ines Potthast, PhD Student, Leibniz University Hannover

Title: Deafness and Cochlear Implants Within Family Stories: A Case Reconstruction from Germany

Abstract:Research into cochlear implants (CIs) is promoting significant results in the fields of technology and medicine. However, little is known about how families with deaf and CI-equipped children negotiate themes of deafness, CIs, multilingualism and what significance these topics hold within the family biography and the biographies of the individual family members. This talk aims to explore the case of an exemplary family biography in conjunction with the positioning of the generations involved in the narration analyzed. The empirical data was collected through interviews and is analyzed via the qualitative method of Objective Hermeneutics (Wernet 2009) that is capable of revealing latent structures of meaning (making). We will examine preliminary findings of my dissertation study that is situated in sociological, educational and special educational perspectives. We will explore family narratives that confront CI implantation with (inter)generational values and notions of deafness and family. Photo provided by: "Roland Schneider/Bilderraum Fotostudio.

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The working schedule is available here: https://purdue.edu/TPAN/hearing/shrp_schedule

The titles and abstracts of the talks will be added here: https://purdue.edu/TPAN/hearing/shrp_abstracts