Dai O'Brien

Dai O'Brien is an Associate Professor of British Sign Language and Deaf Studies at York St John University, where he has worked since 2012. As a deaf academic who uses British Sign Language, he brings unique lived experience to his teaching and research in Deaf Studies.

Dr O'Brien's educational background includes:

• BSc Hons in Biological Sciences from University of Bristol
• MSc in Deaf Studies from University of Bristol
• MRes in Sociology from University of Bristol
• PhD in Sociology from University of Bristol

His research focuses on deaf space - how deaf people navigate and creatively transform environments not designed for them. His work explores deaf young people's transition to adulthood, responses to loss of deaf community spaces, and the experiences of deaf academics in higher education. He has a growing interest in deaf people's involvement in radical left politics and applies Bourdieu's and Lefebvre's theories to understand deaf spatial experiences.

Recent publications reveal a clear trend toward examining the intersection of deaf identity with broader social and political movements, particularly through spatial theory. His work demonstrates increasing attention to deaf-led research methodologies and the application of visual methods in Deaf Studies.

Dr O'Brien actively supervises postgraduate researchers and has contributed significantly to making higher education more accessible for deaf students and staff through initiatives like the LIdIA Position Statement on making higher education more Deaf-friendly.

He serves on the Journal of Deaf Studies and Deaf Education Advisory Board and co-organizes the Bridging the Gap conference series, which strengthens connections between deaf communities and higher education institutions. His professional service includes peer reviewing for major journals and evaluating research grants for organizations like the European Research Council.