A Celebration for Collaborations

Esmail Patel collaborates with Manchester Metropolitan University and The University of Manchester to aid D/deaf Learners with University Choices, Wednesday, 24th April, Geoffrey Manton Building, MMU

Words by Siobhán O'Toole

Esmail Patel, Director/CEO of DEAF (Deaf Education Advocacy Fellowship), joined forces this week with Manchester’s top universities to provide a day in which D/deaf learners could acquire information needed regarding their prospective university experiences, with support from Manchester’s Lord Mayor and Lady Mayoress.

Manchester Metropolitan University (MMU), The University of Manchester (UoM) and DEAF, came together to inspire and encourage D/deaf learners of the North West, and instil in them the belief that they can attend and enjoy university just as hearing people do. During the event, Hassan Naseer, a student at UoM, speaking on behalf of the deaf university experience, said, “we are exactly the same as hearing people, and have the same rights.” With that, he summarised the main ideology of the event: D/deaf learners are able to, and should, take as much from life as any other hearing person would.

Following registration in the Geoffrey Manton atrium, and the set-up of equipment (such as screens to show typed speech in order to ensure understanding), participants filled Lecture Theatre 6, eagerly anticipating the commencement of the event. UoM’s Laura Cragg enthusiastically introduced the day’s activities, while Dr. Sharon Handley, Dean of the Faculty of Humanities at MMU, conveyed her enthusiasm by thanking everyone for attending with hopes that the event would stimulate and inspire all attendees.

It was then Lord Mayor, Councillor Elaine Boyes’s turn to speak, whose presence alone, along with Lord Mayoress, Linda Geoghegan, was inspiration enough. Her speech incorporated the story of Dame Kathleen Mary Ollerenshaw, a British mathematician and politician who was Lord Mayor of Manchester from 1975 to 1976 and an advisor on educational matters to Margaret Thatcher's government in the 1980s. Ollerenshaw became almost completely deaf at the age of eight, and reached the wonderful age of one hundred last year.

From right to left: Lord Mayor, Councillor Elaine Boyes,
Dr. Sharon Handley and Lord Mayoress, Linda Geoghegan

Following her impairment, Ollerenshaw quickly learned to lip-read, as well as a multitude of other skills, including sports; representing England in the women’s ice-hockey team. At 19, Somerville College, Oxford, invited Ollerenshaw to an interview, and due to her advancement in lip-reading, no one at the university knew of her profound deafness until she had started the course. She left Somerville College with a first class degree.

The Lord Mayor utilised the life of Dame Ollerenshaw extremely effectively. Through details of her devotion to education and music, the whole room was affected, moving and inspiring D/deaf and hearing people alike, a unity felt throughout the entire day.

Before presentations on Student Finance and how to budget throughout university, Esmail thanked all involved in the organisation and support of this event, whilst also introducing his community-interest company, DEAF, and its aims:

“We were set up with one aim in mind, to empower and encourage confidence within the D/deaf community, encouraging D/deaf people to achieve their goals. We work primarily with deaf people, but also within the hearing community too, to campaign and spread awareness of the possibilities for all people within higher education.”

An important point of attention for Esmail was the diversity of the DEAF group today, commenting that, ‘it doesn’t matter whether you’re culturally or linguistically deaf or oral; we want this group to be all inclusive’, whilst also conveying the significance of being independent and how higher education facilitates this. I was extremely pleased when Esmail invited me to interview him in the near future. I look forward to hearing more about his story and primary role in creating and running the community-focused organisation.

After being educated on the difficult but worthwhile process of funding via Student Finance England, ambassadors from both universities directed tours of the two campuses. The ambassadors highlighted the most interesting and impressive buildings, such as MMU’s New Business School—a £75 million building which is one of the finest and most environmentally sustainable academic buildings in the UK—and UoM’s library, the largest non-legal deposit library in the UK and the third-largest academic library, after those of Oxford and Cambridge.

Next, guest speakers, Hassan Naseer and Farkandah Khan, introduced as D/deaf role models, tried to encourage participants not to be afraid, and fully take part in university life.  Nasser, a current student of UoM, said that, “despite the problems that first year will present, such as new and frightening environments and people, it will get easier, and you will enjoy your experience.” Naseer, who is the first D/deaf student to study Electrical Engineering at UoM, also wanted to emphasise the level of support in place at universities, so that D/deaf people can learn and enjoy university like everyone else, and develop as independents. 

Farkandah, a deaf, oral learner—and graduate from MMU—told her story of hard work, persistence, multiple jobs and time at MMU. Through ‘strong self-belief, commitment, determination and passion’, Farkandah achieved her first-class degree in travel and attained the accolade of Student of the Year. She later revealed her passion for helping the disabled in Manchester by improving their day-to-day experiences. Farkandah also shared her hopes of setting up a business that focuses on the disabled; organising events and partnerships to benefit the lives of those often ignored and forgotten in society.

Another inspirational D/deaf role model, whose work has significantly improved the lives of many, is Mahmudur Rahman. Despite many financial trials and tribulations over the past ten years, Rahman managed to set-up the Rochdale Rhinos Deaf Football Club and secured sponsorship from Esmail, through DEAF. Mahmudur, who left his boarding school for the deaf at 16, found it difficult to become involved in mainstream activities as, ‘society wasn’t as accepting of D/deaf people in those days’. He quickly became involved in D/deaf football, and despite many thinking that ‘deaf people couldn’t do this’, they played against mainstream teams and beat them over and over again. He said it was ‘a wonderful feeling to prove that we had talent, even playing against hearing people.’

Mahmudur proudly detailed the history of the team, and their initial local success against hearing police teams. They represented the only D/deaf team in the league and they still continue to defeat all other teams. They had local recognition, and a progressive sense of pride in both themselves and their achievements. Unfortunately, the team did not have sufficient funding to support the success of the team, and so, after years of struggle, Mahmudur eventually approached Esmail, who was happy to accept Mahmudur’s proposals and support the ‘Deaf Rhinos’ through the sponsorship of DEAF.

It was clear to see Mahmudur’s honour and pride in his team, especially after introducing his goalkeeper, Adhil Dad, ‘the star of the team; a great player’. Adhil said that being a part of the team is ‘fantastic, [and that] being a part of something that has endeavoured so hard to progress is just incredible. I’m so proud. The sky’s the limit for the team, and who knows where we will progress from here’. Their first game with the new sponsorship, and subsequent new kits, will be on 12^thMay against last year’s champions, and after fervent requests that I attend, I very much look forward to cheering them on.

The day’s event was extremely successful. It proved to be significantly beneficial to both the hearing and D/deaf participants, who learned not only about the logistics of their prospective university experiences, but also that ‘deaf people can achieve, and should not be held back, ever’. Mahmudur represented this belief by saying:

“Race doesn’t matter, religion doesn’t matter, culture doesn’t matter, regardless of who you are, you have skills and interests, and so can take from life just as much as anyone else’.

The collaboration between MMU, UoM and Esmail Patel and DEAF was clearly a success, evident in the participants’ positive acceptance of ideas regarding the potential of D/deaf individuals, the multitude of opportunities open to them, and the event’s encouragement of participants to refuse and banish perceptions of inferiority. 

Siobhan studies English Literature at Manchester Metropolitan and is an inspiring writer, hopeless optimist and romantic, and a complete technophobe. Follow Siobhan on Twitter @smo_07

UNESCO Chair of Human Rights Fights Case for Humanities.

'Human Rights, Humanities and Higher Education': Jean-Paul Lehners, Geoffrey Manton Building, MMU, Monday, 22nd April

Words by Neil Harrison

Photograph by wwwen.uni.lu

This week's IHSSRresearch seminar sees MMU play host to the first UNESCO Chair of Human Rights and recently retired Professor of Global History at the University of Luxembourg, Jean-Paul Lehners. Professor Lehners, who is a member of the Council of Europe and regularly advises governments on human rights issues, is, during his first visit to the region, at the university to deliver a lecture entitled 'Human Rights, Humanities and Higher Education.'

Professor Lehner begins by explaining the current state of European and global policy regarding human rights and education. He explains:

“In December 2011, the general assembly of the United Nations adopted the Declaration on the Right to Human Rights Education. The text contains a number of concepts: opportunities, spirit of participation, inclusion, responsibility, equality, freedom of expression, the right to information and the prevention of human rights violations.”

“Human rights, education and training encompasses ... education about human rights, which includes: providing knowledge and understanding of human rights norms and principles, the values that underpin them and the mechanisms for their protection. Education through human rights including learning and teaching in a way that respects the rights of both educators ... and learners. And education for human rights, which includes empowerment of persons to enjoy and exercise their rights and to respect and uphold the rights of others.”

Culminating in a plea for higher education institutions to include explicit human rights policies within their respective mission statements, Professor Lehners cites the 2009 Venice Statement which was partly organised by UNESCO, stating:

“A human rights based approach requires that science and its applications are consistent with fundamental human rights principle. While the enjoyment of academic freedom requires the autonomy of higher education institutions, higher education as a public good ... must be a matter of responsibility and economic support of all governments.”

Therefore, it is clear the council believes that the burden of responsibility for the implementation and upholding of these cited principles should lie, not simply with the academic institutions, but also with the state.

Professor Lehners concludes the introductory section of his lecture with some recommendations for universities in terms of adopting what he describes as “a human rights dimension” when constructing their strategic literature.

“It is already a progress[ion] if some rights are mentioned, for example, freedom of expression. However, a better approach, of course, would be the [explicit] inclusion of human rights in codes of conduct, in mission statements and plans of action.”

From here he believes that universities can make the human rights dimension ‘transversal,’ and ensure it concerns an institution's ‘learning, research, management, and service to society,’ cementing the involvement of teachers, students and staff and “mainstreaming” human rights.

Here the professor begins to focus his discussion on the ‘added value that the humanities can bring to the study of human rights.’ With an emphasis on his personal academic field, namely History, he delves into a historiography of human rights, beginning:

“Research on the concept of human rights has long been dominated by lawyers. Historians until the recent period have made only a few contributions to the subject. Is this linked to the fact that a historical approach to human rights is questionable?”

He acknowledges many of the arguments against the validity of historical research on the subject of human rights, simultaneously countering each with his personal view that this type of research is valuable.

“Is it the aim of history to legitimize [contemporary human rights] through a linear causality? It is the historian's duty ... to identify crucial turning points. Without history I think misinterpretations would be the order of the day.”

“Throughout history,” he continues, “there have been many barriers and limitations on the notion of human rights. From the transplantation of western ideology into different global cultures, to the linguistic and gender limitations which exist to this day, the French catch-all term ‘Droits de l'homme’ (Rights of Man) being a prime example of gender inequality.”

From here we are taken on a journey from antiquity, via the Magna Carta, The French Revolution, the ideologies of Jeremy Bentham and Karl Marx and the long shadow cast by both 20th century World Wars and particularly the 1948 Universal Declaration of human rights, which Professor Lehners explains, came about as a direct consequence of the suffering inflicted and experienced during World War II. This phenomenon, he emphasizes, is not without precedent. Human rights declarations appear following both the American and French Revolutions and have traditionally been seen as a reaction to ‘painful experience.’ Furthermore, each author of a particular human rights text is influenced by those that have gone before, which makes the understanding of historical human rights legislation all the more important.

Guiding his audience in the direction of the work of American historian, Lynn Hunt,  he offers her interpretation of the notion:

“Human rights require three interlocking points: Natural;inherent in human beings, Equal; the same for everyone and Universal; applicable everywhere. They will become meaningful when they gain political content. [Hunt's] interpretation induces the paradox of self-evidence: If human rights are self-evident, natural, why do they need to be declared?”

This direction necessarily leads to the philosophical aspects of the debate regarding human dignity, which Professor Lehners duly acknowledges, citing works by Adorno, and more recently, Ruth Macklin. He continues with an unabashed bias towards history, exploring how it came to be that human rights study in the field has gained currency over the last few decades.

“So, what has changed in the human rights discourse in the last years? One new factor is that historians have entered into the debate.”

Lehners discusses at length the work of, again, Lynn Hunt, particularly her book Inventing Human Rights and also that of her contemporary, Samuel Moyn, and his The Last Utopia. According to Moyn, ‘human rights made sense to a large part of the population only after 1968.’ In support of this, Professor Lehners offers examples such as the protests following the Vietnam War, dissidence in Eastern Europe and the peace movement.

The essence of the argument put forth by Jean-Paul Lehners in this lecture, therefore, is that the nature of the discourse surrounding human rights is extremely complex. To highlight this he invokes examples as wide-ranging as court cases involving dwarf-tossing, the argument surrounding the right to wear a bhurka and the rights of a pregnant woman seeking an abortion over those of an unborn child. At every tangent of the debate lies a potential philosophical, legal and political wrangle. The lecture is littered with difficult questions; when discussing the 1948 declaration's 'protection of families' aspect, Lehner immediately asks, “who decides what constitutes a family? Is a family the same now as it was in 1948?” The abstract nature of the concept of human dignity is dealt with in both a philosophical and legal context and the speaker's insights are at once illuminating and perplexing. There are no clear answers here.

One thing that does become clear is the professor's determination to see universities, and specifically the humanities subjects, playing a central role in the future debate:

“In order to understand human rights, we have to contextualise them. Humanities and social sciences have an important part in this process. Human rights...are meant to shift between texts and reality. What can I do with human rights declarations if I am poor and too weak to defend myself? It is…of utmost importance within the context of the financial and economic crisis today.”

“Human rights are the result of the learning process and they respond to experiences of injustice and suffering. Narratives based on publicly articulated experiences of injustice have to be added to the narratives based on written documents.”

It is with this task he charges his fellow humanities scholars.

For information about upcoming research seminars and lectures please visit IHSSR's website hssr.mmu.ac.uk/

Neil Harrison is studying Social History at Manchester Metropolitan University. He is an aspiring journalist and a terrible guitar player. Read his blog LooseRiver and follow him on Twitter @LooseRiver