The objective of this article is to discuss different theoretical approaches that have guided the study of deafness. Publications in the fields of psychology, psychiatry, psychoanalysis, deaf studies and theories of narrative are used as basis for discussion. The clinical-therapeutical and socio-anthropological models, now traditional, are initially presented and exemplified trough the questions of intelligence and mental health. After that, the increasing contribution of psychoanalysis and the theories of narrative for the comprehension of the deaf subject is presented. It is argued that these two theoretical perspectives resize the centrality of some concepts, contributing to expand the comprehension of deafness.
deafness; psychology; psychoanalysis; deaf studies; narrative