Teresa Blankmeyer Burke is a distinguished Deaf philosopher and bioethicist, serving as Professor of Philosophy at Gallaudet University. She is globally recognized as the first signing Deaf woman to earn a PhD in philosophy. Her work focuses on Deaf philosophy—where philosophical inquiry intersects with Deaf studies—as well as bioethics, virtue ethics, moral justification, and the ethics of sign-language interpreting.
Education and Early Career
Teresa Blankmeyer Burke completed her Bachelor’s degree in Biology, Ethics, and Society at Mills College in 1993, where she also led student advocacy efforts to increase ADA accommodations and even filed a complaint with the U.S. Department of Justice to advance access[1].
She then pursued graduate studies in philosophy at the University of New Mexico (UNM), obtaining an MA in 2003 and a PhD in 2011[1][4]. Her accomplishment as the first signing Deaf person to earn a PhD in philosophy was particularly groundbreaking given that academic accommodations at UNM were insufficient at the time[1].
Upon entering the PhD programme, Burke faced significant challenges—her assigned interpreter had no philosophy background and was uncertified, often struggling during lectures (e.g., signing "Greek word" whenever encountering unfamiliar terms from Alexander Nehamas' lectures)[1]. This situation prompted her to file complaints with university administrators and threaten legal action to secure qualified interpreting support[1].
Academic Career at Gallaudet University
Burke began her tenure at Gallaudet University as an instructor from 2005 until her doctorate completion in 2011, after which she was appointed Assistant Professor of Philosophy[1]. She currently serves as Faculty Administrator for Faculty Development within the Office of the Provost at Gallaudet[2]. She is also Editor of the Journal of Philosophy of Disability, alongside Joel Michael Reynolds[2].
Research Interests and Contributions
Burke’s research is centered on Deaf philosophy, a field she defines as the intersection between philosophy and Deaf studies[2]. Within this domain, she addresses several critical themes:
- The ethics of sign-language interpreting.
- The concept of Deaf Gain, exploring both intrinsic and instrumental value.
- The moral considerations of using technology to intentionally bear Deaf children.
- Deaf liberty and the medicalization of deafness, including debates over “curing” deafness[1][2].
As an active philosopher using American Sign Language in her teaching and scholarship, she has contributed significantly to developing a more precise philosophical lexicon in ASL, examining how linguistic features reflect philosophical reasoning[1][2].
Her doctoral dissertation, Quest for a Deaf Child: Ethics and Genetics (2011), examines whether it is morally justifiable to use genetic technologies to select for deafness. The study situates this desire within historical contexts of Deaf education, eugenics, civil rights, and cochlear implant debates, and analyzes three argumentative frameworks—consequentialist (via the Non-Identity argument), deontological notions of bodily/genomic integrity, and considerations of harm to family or society. She also evaluates objections such as the child's “right to an open future” and “conditions of exit,” concluding that these objections need further refinement to fully counter her arguments[4].
Impact
Teresa Blankmeyer Burke's contributions span academic, institutional, and community domains:
- Founder of Deaf Philosophy: Her efforts to develop philosophical discourse in ASL have broadened access to philosophical ideas within the Deaf community.
- Ethical Leader: Through her dissertation and ongoing scholarship, she challenges traditional assumptions about disability, genetics, and parental intent.
- Cultural Advocate: Burke amplifies the concept of deaf gain, reframing deafness not as a deficit but as a source of cultural and ethical richness.
- Wikipedia contributors. (2024, April 7). Teresa Blankmeyer Burke. In Wikipedia.
- Teresa Blankmeyer Burke. (2025). teresablankmeyerburke.net
- Gallaudet University. (2022, March 6). Philosophy professor Teresa Blankmeyer Burke to chair American Philosophical Association Task Force on Diversity and Inclusion. Gallaudet News.
- Burke, T. B. (2011). Quest for a Deaf Child: Ethics and Genetics (Doctoral dissertation). University of New Mexico.
