The Deaf Community and Its Culture

This semester I have learned a lot about deaf culture. I learned that deaf people do not want to be pitied because they are deaf, they like to live their lives to the fullest extent as possible. People in the deaf culture do everything that people in the hearing culture do, sometimes the way they do it slightly differs. Such as everyday ways of life, things as simple as listening to music, having conversations, and watching TV. Instead of being able to hear the music, they are able to feel the beat and vibrations made by the music. They have conversations by signing and making facial expressions, instead of using words; and the same with watching TV, instead of listening to the TV they read captions or sometimes even read is. The same things we do, as a hearing person, they just do it differently. I also found it interesting that people in the deaf culture are a lot more direct and friendly, than people in the hearing culture.

In mainstream American society, we tend to approach deafness as a defect. Helen Keller is alleged to have said, "Blindness cuts people off from things; deafness cuts people off from people." (rnib.org) This seems a very accurate description of what Keller's world must have been. We as hearing people tend to pity deaf people, or, if they succeed in the hearing world, admire them for overcoming a severe handicap. We tend to look at signing as an inferior substitute for "real" communication. We assume that all deaf people will try to lip-read and we applaud deaf people who use their voices to show us how far they have come from the grips of their disability. Given this climate, many hearing people are surprised, as I was at

The documentary, Through Deaf Eyes, is a two hour film that focuses on all things related to Deaf life over the span of 200 years. The documentary includes interviews of people who have made a significant impact on the Deaf community, including actress Marlee Matlin and various people who work or either have worked at deaf schools such as Gallaudet University. Before watching this documentary or even before signing up for this ASL course I knew a little bit about Deaf culture through my own personal experience. After watching this documentary I have learned so many different interesting facts and now I have a whole new perspective on the Deaf culture.

This book was mainly focused on looking at Deaf culture of today and comparing it to the culture of the past, and what kinds of struggles deaf people had to endure to get where they are today. The two authors of this book are deaf; one was deaf her whole life and the other became deaf as a child. In my opinion, that was a major contributing factor to why it was so interesting. The reader gets a chance to travel through the history of the Deaf through words from those who have experienced it. It also had a positive impact because the authors let the readers know in the introduction that they are deaf and a brief history of themselves, which I

In the autobiography Deaf Again, Mark Drolsbaugh writes about his life being born hearing, growing up hard of hearing, to eventually becoming deaf. By writing this book, he helps many people view from his perspective on what it is like for someone to struggle trying to fit in the hearing society. Through his early years, his eyes were closed to the deaf world, being only taught how to live in a hearing world. Not only does the book cover his personal involvement, but it covers some important moments in deaf history. It really is eye-opening because instead of just learning about deaf culture and deaf history, someone who lived through it is actually explaining their experiences.

The deaf subculture has always seemed so interesting, American Sign Language (ASL) is so intriguing, a personal friend is deaf and it is amazing, the fact that hearing and speaking could change a person’s culture so drastically. This essay will explain in broad terms what the deaf culture is like and how it is separate

A subculture is defined as a subdivision of a national or the main culture that has a unique and integrated network. The Deaf subculture has its own network, language, which is the official sign language coupled with shared attitudes and beliefs. The Deaf subculture has many subcultures that are divided by various aspects. Some are divided by racial differences while others are divided by the communication method they use. Vision plays a dominant role in the Deaf subculture. They prefer using the American Sign Language (ASL), which has its own syntax and grammar structures. The language relies on visual gestures, but it is not universal and does not have English word order.

All of these “issues” go back to the argument that people grow tired of a lack of representation. Logically, one would assume that a university for the deaf would mainly consist of either deaf or highly qualified hearing instructors. The Washington Post article also opened my eyes to how helpless deaf people felt during that time. The paternalistic viewpoint is so engrained into life that some deaf people complied with the view that because someone is hearing, they are better adapted to care for those who are hard of hearing. These ideals/views are horrible because they make people feel inferior for things that are often out of control. In my opinion, a hearing person that makes that argument for why hearing people need to “govern” the deaf are less than smart because even though the deaf cannot hear, they have other senses, like vison that are much stronger than ours as hearing individuals. Ultimately, I do not think it changed my perspective on deaf people, simply because I believe that you should respect people regardless of their differences. I can say that I relate to it in the way of

The deaf community does not see their hearing impairment as a disability but as a culture which includes a history of discrimination, racial prejudice, and segregation. According to PBS home video “Through Deaf Eyes,” there are thirty-five million Americans that are hard of hearing (Hott, Garey & et al., 2007) . Out of the thirty-five million an estimated 300,000 people are completely deaf. There are over ninety percent of deaf people who have hearing parents. Also, most deaf parents have hearing children. With this being the exemplification, deaf people communicate on a more intimate and significant level with hearing people all their lives. “Deaf people can be found in every ethnic group, every region, and every economic class.” The

Not at all like racial minorities, most by far (at least 90%) of hard of hearing individuals are not naturally introduced to a Deaf minority amass (Mitchell and Karchmer, 2004; Schein and Delk, 1974); as it were, their family is hearing. Not having a Deaf foundation, the greater part of guardians of hard of hearing individuals don't mingle their youngsters about their identity as Deaf individuals or open them to Deaf culture. Inquire about recommends that hard of hearing individuals not naturally introduced to a Deaf family have a more drawn out time of character advancement, and that the vast majority don't turn into a piece of the Deaf people group until their high schooler years. This more drawn out time of personality advancement is likely

When I finished reading the book I realized that I had just learned way more than I had been expecting. Just reading the first chapter was enough for me to be awestruck by the intricacies of the Deaf culture, but as I continued reading I realized that the depth and many levels of social structure are so detailed that being able to fully understand them would be simply impossible. I was very impressed with the amount of respect that the word Deaf conveys among the Deaf community. The first chapter to me seemed to be the most interesting. The many stories about Deaf children meeting friends and interacting shed a new light on the way that Deaf people learn to communicate. The word Deaf itself is

On Saturday April 16 I attended the ASL Club event, Dack to the Resc-U! I arrived at 6:40 and the event started a little late at 7:10. When I entered the room I saw about 30 people, I would say the majority deaf maybe 20 were very very fluent in ASL and I recognized some from class, previous deaf events, and such. Most everyone were strangers, there were a few friends and couples. I was happily greeted as soon as I entered the room by two college kids. The two people that stood out most to me were the two 8 year old girls in the front row. They were best friends and there with one of the girls parents who were also both deaf. It was very cool to see two young people signing so fluently because I am mostly around students all the time. It was interesting to see her give her mom some sas

The deaf community does not see their hearing impairment as a disability but as a culture which includes a history of discrimination, racial prejudice, and segregation. According to an online transcript,“Through Deaf Eyes” (Weta and Florentine films/Hott productions Inc., 2007) there are thirty-five million Americans that are hard of hearing. Out of the thirty-five million an estimated 300,000 people are completely deaf. There are ninety percent of deaf people who have hearing parents (Halpern, C., 1996). Also, most deaf parents have hearing children. With this being the exemplification, deaf people communicate on a more intimate and significant level with hearing people all their lives. “Deaf people can be found in every ethnic group,

In August, I was aware of Deaf culture. I knew the difference between little d and big D of deaf. I had been exposed to certain aspects through my past professors like Danny Roush, who is a CODA. This campus has a tight-knit bond between the Deaf community and students. EKU has an extremely credible ASLIE department. They have even took advantage of the Living Learning Communities and have a Deaf floor in Walters Hall. I was exposed everything, but I was an outsider looking in.

Among their interest in the education of ethnic-minority Deaf college students, they are best known for their notable achievements in addressing various aspects in education of the Deaf. For example, Dr. Ila Parasnis has not only published and presented her works at different conferences but she has also edited several books on cultural identity and diversity in Deaf Education. As for Dr. Susan D. Fischer’s accomplishments, it mainly lies in the publication of 28 different citations in several journals as well as chapters in books that relate to the cultural diversity for deaf education (Author Detail). With all this in mind, it is clear that these professors have studied and gained in-depth knowledge for many years about the field of Deaf Education that they are able to speak about issues relating to the field as authoritative and credible figures.