Researcher Interview: Audrey Cooper

Audrey Cooper is an adjunct professor in anthropology for American University and Gallaudet University. Her current research focuses on the education of deaf communities in Vietnam, which has shown radical change since the reform period around the 1980s. She first became interested in this topic when she visited Vietnam as a consultant for a hypothetical educational program for the deaf. What drew her to her study was the obvious disconnect between the fact that the Vietnamese government was keen on advancing the country in a way that was fully inclusive for the deaf, but prevented deaf education beyond the 8^th grade level. This was because the various forms of sign language used by the deaf were considered lower on the language hierarchy, and the government insisted on deaf people being able to speak Vietnamese. Because of this, in-depth teachings at a higher level are nearly impossible.

Her methods are almost entirely qualitative, due to the ethnographic nature of her research. Cooper spent several three-month periods moving between Vietnam and the U.S., doing fieldwork in the former and archival research in the latter. She primarily uses intensive interviews, often with officials within the government sector of the educational system, and participant observation in the classrooms and clubs of these “special schools” for the deaf. Cooper emphasized the importance of learning the host language, particularly in language-oriented anthropological research. When she transcribes her conversations she does so in Vietnamese, often returning to her participants to confirm what she has written. This is because language is more than words – it combines context and wider cultural meanings that can easily be missed if it must be translated to a foreign language. Cooper's only nod to quantitative methods was to send out a survey near the beginnings of her research to get a general feel for the ways in which special schools were run, and to establish whether or not students were subjected to corporal punishment if they were to try to use sign language.

Cooper has observed greater positive change since her study began. Deaf students have begun to change the reputation of sign language as “lower” than spoken Vietnamese. Thanks to advances in the educational system there is now a group of deaf individuals who have through the use of Ho Chi Min sign language obtained high-level degrees. In a system that has habitually been run from the top down, these individuals are now positioning themselves at the top so that they may continue to improve the system. Cooper plans to continue her research in such a way that applies to her work in Vietnam as an instructor and consultant in this evolving educational system.