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Deaf culture and its impact
Deaf culture and its impact
American deaf culture research paper
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Unlike many other persons with physical disabilities, people with deafness have the abilities to use their own language and hence create their own culture. The deaf communities have perceived themselves as a minority, rather than disabled, in their society. I will explore on the deaf community of Korea. I will look at their language, interaction, education, and accommodations.
Before you read on further, I want note that the word that I will use mostly is Deaf rather than deaf. The difference between the two words is the capitalization. The non-capitalized “deaf” is to refer the physical disability as in the inability to hear. The capitalized “Deaf” refers to the culture as an identity (Deaf or Deaf?, 2006).
I was asked if I wanted to spend the week with a group of Deaf students from Korea that were coming to visit NTID. I accepted and was looking forward to meet with them. As time had come, I became both excited and nervous. It was on Sunday morning. A few of my friends and I walked to the Radisson hotel to meet them. When we got to the Radisson hotel, we saw them. You could tell it’s them because they were signing, but I have no idea what they were talking about. Their sign language is completely different. I noticed that they use their fingers more to communicate rather than gesture and facial expression. They could not recognize that my friends and I are Deaf American students because we were not signing yet. We were nervous to how to address to them. We would just wait for the right time. We noticed that many of the Korean students left back to their rooms. There were a few female Korean students in the lobby. I was comfortable enough to go up and introduce myself. I was told that they were le...
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..., H.-K. (2009, September 3). South Korea Association of the Deaf - Amazing Video! [Video file]. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6PGZdwJXZZE
Clark, D. K. (2000). Culture and Customs of Korea. Retrieved from http://site.ebrary.com/lib/rit/docDetail.action?docID=10018029
Deaf or deaf? Can a Capital Letter Make a Difference? (2006, June 22). Retrieved January 29, 2010, from Associated Content website: http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/38664/deaf_or_deaf_can_a_capital_letter_make.html?cat=5
Korean Manual Alphabet [Pictures of Korean Manual Alphabet]. (2009, December 16). Retrieved January 29, 2010, from Wikipedia website: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Korean_manual_alphabet
Soh, C. S. (n.d.). Linguistic Affiliation. In South Korea (par. 2-3). Retrieved January 29, 2010, from Every Culture website: http://www.everyculture.com/Ja-Ma/South-Korea.html
In the following chapters, there is an extensive amount of knowledge to learn about how Deaf culture is involved in our modern world. The pages assigned give us an outlook of how Deaf people are treated in our daily life, and how we should learn from it. Its gives a clear line between what are myths and what are facts, to those who are curious about the Deaf community or have specific questions. This book has definitely taught me new things that I could put to good use in the near future. In specific chapters, my mind really opened up to new ideas and made me think hard about questions, like “why don’t some Deaf people trust hearing people,” or “do we need another ‘Deaf president now’ revolution?” I realized many new things in the course of reading this book, and have recommended this to my family.
The book named “Deaf Again” has been written by “Mark Drolsbaugh”. In the underlying book, the author provides the detailed information about the life of the young boy named Mark who was deaf since birth but spends his life without any trouble. The boy was very intelligent and struggle too much for his deafness. The boy was very happy with his life and never feels to anyone that he is deaf. He spends a peaceful life with his mother and father. His mother and father were also deaf. The main purpose of the author for writing this book is to inform the readers about the struggles of the deaf boy (Ginsburg et.al, 2013).
Padden, Carol and Humphries, Tom (1988). Deaf in America: Voices from a Culture. Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA.
In this article, “The Deaf Body in Public Space,” Rachel Kolb explains how interacting with people who do not understand sign language could be difficult. With her hearing disability she struggled to communicate with her peers. Kolb further explains the different situations she has encountered with people and comments that are made with first intercommunications. Going further she also mentions how she struggles with two languages and two modes of communication.
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.
Deaf Culture is often misunderstood because the hearing world thinks of deafness as a handicap. The Deaf are not given enough credit for their disabilities even though they are unable to hear. Being misunderstood is the biggest reason why they are not accepted in the world of hearing. The learning process for them may be slower and more difficult to learn, but they are still very bright individuals. The problem at hand is the controversy of trying to “fix” the Deaf when they may or may not want to be “fixed”. The hearing world should give Deaf people a chance to show their true talents and abilities of intelligence before rushing to assumptions, such as hearing aids will fix all Deaf people, because Deaf are dumb, have social problems, and
The documentary of “Through Deaf Eyes” has open my eyes to the deaf culture. The movie has made it “click” that deaf people are just that people and individuals like me. Deaf community has its struggles just like everyone else. They struggle with growing into who they are as a person, harmful situations, and feeling a sense of belonging. They just speak a different language like Italians and Hispanics. Communicating with a different language does not make them lesser than a hearing person. When able to learn to communicate, the deaf are able to learn and gain knowledge just like a hearing person. The only difference is they have to learn more and work harder to achieve their goals and gain knowledge, which a hearing person learns just by hearing their surroundings.
Throughout the course of the semester, I have gained a new understanding and respect of Deaf culture and the many aspects it encompasses. The information supplied in class through discussion, movies, and guest lecturers since the previous reflection have aided in the enhancement of my knowledge of Deaf culture and nicely wrapped up all of the information provided throughout the semester.
What I found most interesting about Jarashow’s presentation were the two opposing views: Deaf culture versus medical professionals. Within the Deaf culture, they want to preserve their language and identity. The Deaf community wants to flourish and grow and do not view being deaf as a disability or being wrong. Jarashow stated that the medical field labels Deaf people as having a handicap or being disabled because they cannot hear. Those who are Deaf feel as though medical professionals are trying to eliminate them and relate it to eugenics. It is perceived that those in that field are trying to fix those who are Deaf and eliminate them by making them conform to a hearing world. Those within the Deaf community seem to be unhappy with devices such
While reading Mark Drolsbaugh’s Deaf Again where he wrote about his experiences with becoming postlingually deaf, I realized that I was able to relate to some of the situations he encountered, especially when he spoke of his frustrating childhood due to his disability. As he grew older, he needed to find new ways to cope with and accept his deafness. Because of his unique viewpoint with deaf parents who were not allowed to sign around him, the book gave readers a different perspective to look at deafness with. Drolsbaugh’s personal account of his life was inspirational as he grew up with a truly exceptional situation, yet was able to overcome his obstacles and become successful after he quit denying who he really was.
Deaf and hearing impaired individuals are know longer an out cast group. They now have there own deaf community. Deaf individuals do not consider themselves having an impairment, handicap, or any type of disability. They believe that through the use of sign language, other communication skills, and technology that there deafness is the way they are supposed to be. Many people who have perfect hearing can not understand deaf people and why they embrace there deafness instead of trying to receive hearing and get rid of there handicap. However not all deaf people have th...
Spradley, T. S., & Spradley, J. P. (1978). Deaf Like Me. Washington, DC: Gallaudet University.
Each deaf person I communicated with greeted me relatively the same. Everyone was really friendly and polite. Each individual introduced him or herself and then asked what my name was. Understanding the fingerspelling was somewhat difficult for me. As a matter of fact, there were a few times when I had to ask individuals to repeat their name. I felt kind of ashamed, but they made me feel better about the situation. They smiled and finger spelled their name again but this time slower. I suppose it was obvious I was new to the language and really anxious to meet people using ASL. Another aspect I found interesting regarding the greeting behavior was each individual shook my hand. After introducing themselves with their name, they always put out their hand with a smile. Sometimes I see this while using English, but I feel as if it people associated with American Deaf culture shake hands to a greater
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, every region, and every economic class” (Weta and Florentine films/Hott productions Inc., 2007). The deaf culture and hard of hearing have plenty of arguments and divisions with living in a hearing world without sound however, that absence will be a starting point of an identity within their culture as well as the hearing culture (Weta and Florentine films/Hott productions Inc., 2007).
This essay will explore the medical model of disability as well as the social model of disability by providing an in depth analysis of the views and explanations that outline each perspective. It will examine and establish the connection of the two models in relation to Deaf people. Furthermore it will illustrate how Deaf people are defined according to each outlook, as well as the issues and concerns that arise from these perceptions. This essay will consider the medical model and the social model to compare the ideas and objectives of the given articles; Caught in the Deaf Trap by Karen Van Rooyen, A Brave New World of Sound by Thandi Skade, Fake Interpreters: A Violation of Human Rights and lastly Professor Graham Turner’s; 10 lessons from the tale of the ‘fake’ interpreter.