What Is The Role They Played In Deaf Culture

Growing up in a small-town I was literally in a culture bubble. There were almost no deaf people. I just never had the opportunity to converse with someone who is deaf. As I was reading this book I noticed my internal motivation for learning ASL was changing. I now want to learn as much ASL as I possibly can, so I can chat with those I come in contact with that are deaf or hard of hearing. I never realized that St. George was such a big area in deaf individuals. I always saw it as a winter getaway and vacation spot, but for them, it is their lifetime home. In the book, I thought it was cool that he told the story about how his family treated him and it made him feel like an outsider and that he needed to change. I never want to be that hearing person that makes others feel like they aren’t worth it because they are deaf and they need to change. From now on my plan is to respect and encourage the deaf to be themselves and never push them to become something they are not. This book opened my eyes to the world outside of the bubble and I’m grateful for

Prior to reading these chapters I wasn’t really sure what to expect. I have never really been exposed to the Deaf- World. I have watched shows such as Switched at Birth, but I know that it doesn’t completely portray the real Deaf- Community. I was extremely interested in seeing their side of the story and gaining insight on the life they live. I decided to read chapters one, and two. The first chapter is an introduction into the Deaf World, in a story format it shows major differences between the world of the Deaf and the hearing. While the second chapter talks about the struggles of a deaf child, and mainly the two different approaches between deaf and hearing parents. Overall, the beginning two chapters of A Journey into the Deaf- World

Imagine how communication is done between those people who do not have the ability to hear or speak. Of course, there must be some ways of communication that are convenient for the deaf people to communicate. The founder of the American Sign Language , Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet, discovered the new way of communicating between the deaf people. Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet was inspired by a young deaf girl named Alice Cogswell, which was his next door neighbor. His neighbor, Dr. Mason Cogswell was a prominent Hartford physician, he was concerned about proper education for his nine years old deaf daughter. Dr. Mason Cogswell’s idea motivated Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet to travel around Europe to study methods for teaching deaf students

Throughout the documentary film Through Deaf Eyes, I felt amazed by deaf culture. The deaf culture is a versatile, rich, and unique community that more people need to be aware of. When the film was covering the transition of ASL schools to oral only I mostly felt ashamed of my own culture. Someone as Alexander Graham Bell, who is naturally considered one of the greatest inventors in the hearing world, believed that the language used by the deaf community was not a language. The hearing world is the most dominant one, there is no doubt. However, there has to be an understanding that not everyone who is different from the “typical” is “atypical”. A language is nothing but patterns of signs, symbols, and/or sounds that are used to convey meaning. In what manner does sign language not fit the category of a language?

For a Deaf Son is a documentary about Thomas Thranchin, who was born deaf to hearing family. His father, a filmmaker, produced this documentary to offer an intimate look at how parents of a deaf child make decisions. The documentary is compiled together with interviews from audiologist, families of children with hearing loss, other expert in the field, as well as home videos of Thomas. Thomas was discovered to be profoundly deaf at the age of one and could only hear high frequency sound. This meant that with hearing aids on him, he could acquire speech and language with therapy. The other discussion that Thomas’ parent had to make is whether to educate their son in sign language versus strictly verbal speech. Both Thomas’ parents have different opinions on teaching him ways to communicate. The beginning of the movie, his parents had decided to enroll Thomas in hearing school so that he could learn to communicate with the hearing world that his family lived in. His mother also thought that by enrolling him in a teaching based classroom supported by sign would be an easier route for Thomas considering that he was deaf. Thomas’ father had then begun his research to figure out ways to unlock Thomas’ speech capacities and the outcome of those choices. The documentary

Given that, ASL literature is as engaging and educational as any form of communication, there is no reason why such forms of storytelling should not be introduced to hearing or deaf children at an early age. Many school children are required to read about Helen Keller. Teaching children how to express themselves as well as how to communicate effectively has no drawbacks. Helen Keller once informed, “[b]efore my teacher came to me, I did not know that I am. I lived in a world that was a no-world. I cannot hope to describe adequately that unconscious, yet conscious time of nothingness.” This statement need not be singularly reserved for Helen Keller, as any person can feel these emotions. In other words, there is an awareness that is created through the use of literature and no barriers should be placed on its effective

Through the deaf eyes is a film about what is like to be deaf; it also tells us about the history, as well as challenges deaf culture has faced. It speaks about Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet and Laurent Clerc the creators of the first school for the deaf, also deaf clubs, and people today who have changed perspectives of the deaf community. Gallaudet University was the first environment where deaf community can come together and begin their history and culture teaching deaf children how to speak would benefit them more in the future; however that was not the case, and many thought it was a waste out time as they got older. They feel that they should have focused on sign language, so that they can learn more instead of spending years on learn to

Inside deaf culture is a very strong book written by carol Padden and tom Humphries in this book authors have tried to give a tour of the most important moments that has shaped the Deaf culture.

Everybody faces challenges and uncertainties and a daily basis. Fortunately, for hearing people their troubles can be trivial. For those who are in the Deaf and hard of hearing culture, however, challenges and uncertainties are not relatively trivial. Over the past several years, the Deaf community has been enterprising for culture awareness. Historically, the media have played an important role in the portrayal of deaf individuals. “Switched at Birth” is a television show that has helped shed some light on the Deaf culture. "Switched at Birth" has tackled many autistic beliefs toward Deaf people that are false and ignorant such as them not being able to drive, raise kids, and have jobs.

I watched Sound and Fury, a documentary that came out in 2000, centered on the complications of getting the Cochlear Implant, and how Deaf and hearing communities can differ upon the topic. Particularly within one family, brothers along with their wives and parents have a tough time deciding if their Deaf children should undergo such a procedure. They all travel to visit families that are hearing with children who aren’t learning ASL because they have the implant. They visit a Deaf family whose 10-year daughter is the only person in the family to get the implant. They also visit schools focusing on speech to help Deaf children who wear hearing aids and/or got the Cochlear Implant, and visit a Deaf community with a school focused on ASL. Each

According to Cristina De Rossi, an anthropologist at Barnet and Southgate College in London, “Culture encompasses religion, food, what we wear, how we wear it, our language, marriage, music, what we believe is right or wrong, how we sit at the table, how we greet visitors, how we behave with loved ones, and million other things.” I think basically culture expresses the ways we live. Every region, every family and everyone has their own culture. For example, people usually call “Western Culture,” “Eastern Culture,” “Latin Culture,” or “African Culture” etc. Therefore, with Deaf people, they also have their own culture, which is Deaf Culture. Deaf culture is the set of tradition, behavior, norm, values and language. Because of that, there are might be some differences between cultures with cultures. In this

So, I stood up and talked to people and they were very welcoming, and it made me more relaxed. They understood that I was a ASL student and one of the people I talked to even knew Rusty. After the intermission was over it back to not understanding a thing that the speakers were saying. It was like I game where I had to laugh and cheer when everyone else did. But I was enjoying myself a little more after chatting with a few people. After this event I felt like I got a little taste of what Mark had experienced in the book Deaf Again, but the roles were switched I was hearing in an all deaf environment instead of being deaf in a hearing environment like mark was. Although this type of event could have scared me away from future deaf events it didn’t. The reason why I am looking forward to events like this in the future is because I’m going to persevere and improve so next time ill understand a little more and sooner or later ill understand everything that’s going on. Knowing how bad my ASL is makes me just want to get better. Therefore, there are many things I could improve onto make my future experiences better and I’m looking forward to the next

While watching “History: Through Deaf Eyes” by PBS, I learned a lot about deaf culture and history. I already knew about certain events, like the rise of oral teaching and the protest for Gallaudet; however, listening to the stories from people who experienced these events gave me appreciation I did not have before. Also, learning how technology shaped deaf history was also very interesting, as well as the various options for deaf children today.

After reading Chapter 1 of “Through Deaf Eyes”. I was not surprised by the facts that were introduced in Chapter 1. Some of these things that were talked about and discussed I have experienced in my life as a deaf person with cochlear implants.

The reading discussed deaf identity, as well as the stigma that is attached to American Sign Language. In one example the author discusses a driving incident where an angry women was yelling at them and after explaining to the woman that they were deaf, the woman angrily stated, “well, if you’re deaf, then read my lips” (Harmon, 2010, p. 32). It becomes clear the many ways that society condescendingly tells disabled people what to do, to follow instructions they give, all while constantly assuming incapability. Deaf individuals are relentlessly being reminded that there is no room for them in this world, when in fact it is society that makes it difficult to maneuver this world through the barriers they create themselves. The reading identifies these misguided societal stresses by stating an, “… emphasis on a shared language rather than on a hearing status… the intention is to avoid reiteration of a problematic hearing-deaf frame of reference” (Harmon, 2010, p. 36). Here, Harmon makes a strong point to erase the stigma towards deafness as a barrier, while viewing ASL just like any other language, which is a quality skill and not just something learned due to