“Assistive Technologies for Deaf People in Jordan: Entanglements of Language, Religion, and Disability”
Harrell Family Fellowship, 2023–2024
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
History, Anthropology and Science, Technology, and Society (HASTS)
Timothy Y. Loh is an anthropologist of science and technology and a PhD candidate in the History, Anthropology, and Science, Technology, and Society (HASTS) program at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in the United States. Drawing upon theories and methods from medical anthropology, linguistic anthropology, and the social study of science, his dissertation ethnographically examines how deaf Jordanians are engaging with new assistive technologies that have emerged in Amman in the last few decades, including cochlear implants and sign language-centered mobile applications.
Timothy’s research has been supported by fellowships from the Social Science Research Council, the Royal Anthropological Institute, the National Academy of Education/Spencer Foundation, and the MIT Center for International Studies, in addition to the American Center of Research. His work has been published in Medical Anthropology, the Arab Studies Journal, Sapiens, and Somatosphere, among other outlets. He holds a bachelor of science in foreign service (culture and politics) and a master of arts in Arab studies, both from Georgetown University, also in the U.S., as well as a master of science from MIT’s HASTS. Before beginning his doctorate, he worked in humanitarian assistance and secondary education in Jordan and Lebanon.