Deaf Culture Research Paper

“A Journey Into the Deaf World” is a book written by Harlan Lee and ________. Chapter 1 serves as the intro into the Deaf community. Ben Bahan is the narrator of the book and in this chapter we are introduced to pivotal people in the book: Jake Cohan, Laurel Case, Roberto Rivera, and Henry Byrne. Ben is a Child of Deaf Adults, also known as CODA. He tried to stay away from the Deaf community but he eventually got drawn back to it.

What is culture? Culture reflects the customs of one particular nation or group of people. This term is often used to distinguish one societal group from another due to differences in beliefs, languages, traditions, arts, and behaviors. Throughout the world, there are many different cultures that play a variety of roles in various communities. In the 1980s, many people began to recognize Deaf culture and the unification of the Deaf community. Language plays an essential role in the development and unification of a culture or nation. Through the use of American Sign Language (ASL), a new type of culture emerged that embraced the Deaf community. According to Carol Padden and Tom Humphries, in their novel, Inside Deaf Culture, “We used a definition of culture that focused on beliefs and practices, particularly the central role of sign language in the everyday lives of the community” (Humphries & Padden 1). With that being said, through the use of novels, movies, and deaf events one is able to witness Deaf culture firsthand and recognize similarities and differences present between the hearing and Deaf communities.

In this book, the author gives real life accounts of how he lived with deaf people and the experience because he himself is deaf. In the book Leo explains that he has an education background to let us know that is very knowledgeable about the deaf world and that he got his bachelor’s degree when he was 19. The author explains in the book that throughout his life he saw how much society changed with new accommodations and acceptance for the deaf. We learn in the book that the author saw that as a child he was about to have help from a teacher and the state more easily. As an adult in college, he had to have help finding hearing students to help with taking his notes. Leo also explains how the employment opportunities for deaf adults and public

In chapter 4, it explains how Deaf people live in a hearing world. Some people who have grown up with Deaf people really don't see Deaf people as any different than themselves. Verditz had an idea that sign language comes from spoken languages, English and ASL are similar and different from each other having English as my first language has helped me learn ASL but the sentence structures are very different from English. Sign language is a visual language.

Deaf people share certain behavioral norms such as eye contact, body language and gestures enable them to communicate effectively. They rely on body touch waving hands, using a third person, hugs and have open communication. They value the ASL, interpreters, devices that help them communicate effectively such as vibrating systems, and visual alerts. They have a tradition of sticking or forming their own groups where they champion for their rights and respect from others in the community. The Deaf subculture is referred to as a subcultural group mainly because the members have distinct behaviors, physical artifacts, traditions, values, history, and beliefs that distinguish them from the other people (Minnesota Department of Human Services, 2013).

In this 2 hours of deaf history I found it very interesting. It taught me a lot about deaf history. In those 2 hours I found out about how people would treated deaf people. Deaf people were treated very badly, they were treated like something was wrong with them. There is nothing wrong with them even though they can’t hear, nothing is wrong with them they are still humans with feeling. Deaf people were told that they had to go to a school so they could learn to talk (oral schools). In those they were not aloud to sign or use hands in class. They would try and teach deaf kids how to speak by putting their hands on the teacher's throat to feel the vibrations of when the teacher speak and the kids had to copy that feeling on themselves and when

Those that oppose cochlear implants argue mostly from a minority standpoint. The deaf community feels that as the minority, the hearing majority is threatening their way of life. “The deaf community is a culture. They’re much like the culture of the Hispanic community, for example, where parents who are Hispanics, or shall we say deaf, would naturally want to retain their family ties by their common language, their primary language, which is

The sponsoring organization for the Pomona deaf event was called Deaf Nation. Their purpose for the event was so that people could have connection meeting other people who are deaf and people who want to learn more about the deaf culture of American Sign Language. The membership was free admission anyone who was interested in the Deaf Expo could attend for more information about the deaf culture. The event was located in Fairplex building 7, there was a large amount of people. The event was on May 7th on Saturday. It started at 9am, but I came late. There were Deaf, hard of hearing, and hearing people in the building. The building was ginormous and people were really welcoming. The purpose of the event was to help the deaf community people to interact with other people and people who could hear learn more about the culture. It is hosted by Deaf Nation every year in Pomona and also in other three

Deaf culture describes the social beliefs, behaviors, art, literary traditions, history, values and shared institutions of communities that are affected by deafness and which use sign languages as the main means of communication (http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deaf_culture). Much is the same when describing the social cultures of the deaf-blind communities. They come from different social, vocational and educational backgrounds. They have many jobs and roles: teachers, professors, counselors, homemakers, agency directors,

Deafness or hard of hearing, is defined by the medical society as a disability, but those who are diagnosed with the disability think otherwise. They think of themselves as a community, embrace it as an identity, or a culture with their own language, sign language, and they believe their community is being threaten. They label themselves as a minority endangered of being wiped out because of one leading cause, cochlear implants. Those serious about their ideals of their community see cochlear implants as a threat, because cochlear implants are considered as cure. Countless number of controversies over cochlear implants have been brought up, but the Deaf community should see cochlear implants as gift for patients rather than an extreme threat.

Some deaf people also believe that their condition is both natural and cultural and in no sense medical. Therefore, implants only constitute acts of genocide, endangering the continuation of the Deaf community (Edwards). Deaf people view those who agree to the surgery and get the implants as artificial deaf persons, as opposed to those who choose to be original deaf persons (893). Even though hearing persons try to cure those who are hard of hearing, most deaf individuals consider that they do not need their help, as they do not have any disability, and simply have a different language and culture than the rest of their community.

I woke up like everyday, in perfect silence. I can’t remember a time when I able to hear. The fact is that I’m deaf so that means I couldn’t hear a thing. I slid from my bed and walked over to my dresser. It was Monday and I had to go to school. School made me feel incompetent, my teachers smiled and pointed to stuff trying to help me understand. A place where my fellow classmate don’t understand that I can’t hear their taunts and bullying. When people heard that I’m deaf, their first thought was that I’m helpless.

Deaf and hard of hearing people are just like us. They are not any different, but hears like us. There is some common misunderstanding, that is really annoying for Deaf and hard of hearing people. Those misunderstanding are can you understands us? Are you able to drive? Do you need a wheelchair? Can you read and write? Do deaf people have sex? Etc.…These kinds of questions annoyed deaf people the most. People do not realize that deaf people do not have as much as difficulty as normal folks thinks that they have. They can do almost everything and just as much no less. Sometime, they begged to be considered the same as hearing folks. They want to be equals, respected, and value just as much as hearing people. Sometime, we forgot to ask ourselves.

People tend to think stereotypically for many groups of people, so it is not surprising for them to also think this way for the Deaf community Most myths have to do with their everyday lives such as their home lives, work lives, and school lives. There is a myth that some people believe where Deaf people cannot drive a vehicle, yet it has been proven that Deaf people’s other senses are more enhanced than a hearing person’s due to the fact that they are deaf (Kins, Casey). I think that many people think stereotypically about the Deaf community because they do not know what it is like to live in it, and they have not experienced what it feels like to be deaf. Deaf people usually understand this and are willing to explain and describe to others what it is like to live in this world with no hearing. It is possible to learn of these things through what Deaf people tell you or what they write

Within the introduction the author expresses the importance of educating deaf children threw education and special training that they require and have they had the right to have available to them. The author explains the high importance sign language plays and the advantages it gives them insight, intervention into the deaf community. ASL, or sign language is essential within in this deaf community. Sign language is a creation of the deaf community’s history and it allows them to fulfill their protentional intertwined with all different types of cultures that sign language is built on.