Deaf Culture Research Paper

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.

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

The Deaf community contains the basic characteristics of any particular ethnic group, despite the attempts from hearing people to destroy their culture through medical interventions. This community contains members who share a feeling of community. They value recognition by others and self-recognition (Lane). They feel strongly identified in their group, as they create a family environment, which provides support for each of its members. Moreover, the Deaf community has a set of norms for behavior. In decision-making processes, they try to agree on the course of action to take through consensus and not just by individual initiatives. Allegiance to their culture is also another distinct value that characterizes the members of this community. People with hearing impairments have the “highest rate of endogamous marriages of any

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.

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).

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,

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

In light of Deaf Culture, it is truly fascinating how often hearing people rely on auditory information to obtain knowledge from their environment. An environment, in which all cultures live, typically releases some sort of auditory sound such as music, animal, human, and transportation noises. Likewise, the hearing culture has access to the latest information that our world continually creates or changes. The Deaf Culture does not have access to this auditory information that I have mentioned, but that does that make them any less of a culture. Instead of culturally evolving around auditory information, their culture matures through the sharing of information and stimulation of the eyes. Additionally, almost everything that I and the rest

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.

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.

In the article should the Deaf Be Considered an Ethnic Group? By Susan Seligson the author examines the attitudes towards the deaf community and their classification in society. The author claims that the deaf community has major hurdles to over come to become a ethnic group including the medical industries affection toward technology like cochlear implants which are usually implanted into infants who may have hearing difficulties with doctors medical advice. Seligson maintains the belief in which these implants are actually harmful to children because they can only marginally hear which effects the socialization of the child because the child has to try to hear with these implants opposed to learning ASL and being a part of a community. The

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

The first Deaf event I attended was held on Tuesday, September 26th at Walden Galleria Mall from 6 to 8pm. I first learned about the event from Kim who learned about it during a general meeting hosted by UB ASL Club. I along with three other classmates carpooled and attended the event together. The annual Western New York Deaf Awareness Week Kickoff started with introductions of various elected officials involved in the Deaf community. Most of the individuals introduced currently held positions at a Deaf school (St. Mary’s School for the Deaf) and the rest were state or region officials. Some of them were able to sign their introductions, while others gave verbal introductions with an ASL interpreter signing on the side. Unlike my predictions, there was a relatively even mix of Deaf and hearing people who attended. The setting of the event was very Deaf-friendly in that it was hosted in an open area right on the walkway of the mall. One could easily get a clear view of everybody at the event so no physical barriers were present in term of communication. There were verbal and sign interpreters at the event, making it very accessible to both Deaf and hearing individuals. Without personally asking every person about his or her hearing status, I was able to generally map out who were Deaf and who were hearing based on how they applaud. I unknowingly found myself applauding by twisting my hands instead of striking them against each other. I did so partially because this is what

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.