question about deaf culture and sociology

Rei

Rei

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today in my sociology class we were talking about what binds certain groups together in a society. my teacher brought up Deaf culture. this got me to thinking about why other groups seem to not be as strongly bonded as the Deaf. so my question is what do you think causes the strong bond in Deaf culture? is it the common language of asl? the common experiences of discrimination, or difficulty with hearing people? as always thank you for your help and responses.
 
REI: If you read the various threads re Cochlear Implants especially for young children you discover that not all DEAF persons are "part of bonded group".

Not everyone accepts the premise that "hearing people have/do oppress the Deaf".

Is there such a conceptualization as : "hearing culture" or say"blind culture"?

Sociology can be interesting-to say the least!

As an actual bilateral DEAF person- since December 20, 2006- some thoughts to consider in your Sociology class.
Further discussion - Michael Chorost in his book Rebuilt,2005 re United States Deaf communities.
 
I think language and culture inform one another so much that any group with their own language is going to have its own strong subculture.
 
Language may part of culture-however consider English. Is the "culture" in the United Kingdom or Canada or United States the "same"?

In the context of the original comment- are "Deaf/deaf/DEAF" persons different "cultures-in the same country" to speaking?

How does one explain the difference between ASL vs BSL vs Auslan Signs-notwithstanding English is spoken language in the above countries?
 
drphil said:
Language may part of culture-however consider English. Is the "culture" in the United Kingdom or Canada or United States the "same"?

In the context of the original comment- are "Deaf/deaf/DEAF" persons different "cultures-in the same country" to speaking?

How does one explain the difference between ASL vs BSL vs Auslan Signs-notwithstanding English is spoken language in the above countries?
Click to expand...
You might want to read "Understanding Deaf Culture: In Search of Deafhood" by Dr. Paddy Ladd. That book answers all your questions and more.
 
I am sure there are books which attempt to explain "Deaf culture". The book I read was A Journey into the DEAF-WORLD. Harlan Lane, Robert Hoffmeister, Ben Bakan 1996 DawnSign Press San Diego 1996.
As a DEAF person most of the book did not appear to me to make much sense. I am still wondering when was I " supposedly oppressed"? Being in the Profound loss category over 30 years? Becoming DEAF in my right ear- Feb10, 1992 or bilateral DEAF December 20, 2006? Nor did any ENT doctors I saw -ever make any suggestion i should or shouldn't consider a Cochlear Implant. I had almost 15 years to deafness becoming total for reading about deafness. No I didn't at that of time have a computer.

As for Dr Paddy Ladd thoughts-what does he say about DEAF being supposedly "culturally oppressed? Does he accept Harlan Lane's opinion: Cochlear Implants are instruments of genocide of cultural deafness"? What does he have to say about DEAF persons who reject the "oppression theory"? Not really DEAF??????????

I found the following article of interest: Deafness as Culture-Edward Dolnick The Atlantic Monthly September 1993 pages 37-51.

As for interaction in the Deaf community-presumably one must know and use ASL-correct?
Some members in AllDeaf stated they are "cultural Deaf" because of the use of ASL even they are HEARING.
Again it appears the "key to the Deaf communities' acceptance" is the use of ASL.

A side note: I was involved in the Canadian Hearing Society/Toronto Hearing Help/SpeechReading classes from 1992 to 2007. A great deal info came from them.



More discussion in Sociology
 
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My son is Deaf, mixed race, and also wear a CI. Im a Latino and I see the same or more culture bonding in the Deaf community as I see in other cultures.
 
I believe there is "something different" in Sociology- between what is labeled "mixed race" and the condition of being "deaf".
As to whether the local Deaf community "accepts anyone who signs" as a member presumably contingent on that specific entity. Whether a "Latino Deaf person" would be "accepted" here in Toronto-no idea.

More discussion in Sociology.
 
I watched a program called something like 'My Deaf Family,' about a large family where most of the members were deaf, and one teenaged boy was hearing (maybe one of his younger siblings, too).
The hearing teen said he thought part of it was a culture of shared suffering, based on the prevalence of oralism.

I wonder if part of it is the shared experience of 90% of deaf people being born into hearing families, meaning they have a shared cultural experience of parents not being able to communicate with them. Even the parents who will learn sign, it takes a while. It seems to me that would make connections with those who understand very, very important.
 
As a bilateral DEAF person-December 20, 2006- I am not sure how the meaning of the adjective-"stone" or "Profound" applies? To me deafness is silence which can't be "quantified".
 
Thank you every one for your imput. I am sorry i have not been responding, the end of the semester has me scrambling to get homework done on time. drphil, you are right, when i started this thread i generalized too much, i am sorry, i should not have done that. so from the comments on here it would seem to reason that it is the collective experience as well as collective understanding of Deaf issues. which explains why hearing people can become culturaly deaf. this idea of collective understanding and experience would explain why all subcultures of a society are tightly bonded together. i think i am going to do my final project for sociology on this concept, the reading suggests will be alot of help with this. thank you everyone!
 
Rei said:
my question is what do you think causes the strong bond in Deaf culture? is it the common language of asl? the common experiences of discrimination, or difficulty with hearing people? as always thank you for your help and responses.
Click to expand...

In case it's not too late:

Yes, in Deaf culture we use ASL, experience discriminations and have difficulty communicating with hearing people who don't know ASL so we communicate with them by writing or through an interpreter.

Don't forget that we watch videos with captions which is also a big part of our culture and we have Deaf events where we get together to meet old friends and make new friends. Many of us went/go to deaf schools.
 
The use of technology these days eg: Cochlear Implants/TTY/Cell phones etc has changed how some DEAF persons now interact which, of course, unavailable in the past.
Worthy of study- the impact of technology on the DEAF?
 
drphil said:
The use of technology these days eg: Cochlear Implants/TTY/Cell phones etc has changed how some DEAF persons now interact which, of course, unavailable in the past.
Worthy of study- the impact of technology on the DEAF?
Click to expand...
If a CI user doesn't use ASL and doesn't interact with deaf people, I don't see how CI is a part of Deaf culture.
 
A Cochlear Implant as such is a device. My understanding of culture- for persons only. It is ongoing "discussions" whether DEAF persons utilizing an Implant are "real" DEAF of not.
Presumably no definite conclusion from" Deaf Militants".
More discussions in Sociology.
 
thats intresting. i would have never thought that someone useing a CI might not be considered "deaf" by their peers. as a hearing person i would personaly consider someone useing such a device as deaf. does having a CI put someone in a so called cultural "no mans land"? the technology aspect would be intresting to do for the project unfortuanatly i already turned in my project, i need to get in the habit of checking this site more often.
CrazyPaul i definatly see what youre saying, and it makes sense taht being around other deaf people in school or other events would strenghten the bond. the closed captioned movies is not something that i considered before, i assumed that a closed captioned movie was the same as hearing it. i quickly found out how wrong i was by trying to watch a movie with the subtitles on and the volume off, and i found it extreamly difficult to keep up with what was going on, mostly when the charaters were talking really fast and the dialog would disappear before i had a chance to read it all.
 
It is important to note the publication dates on any Deaf Culture or CI related info as the one mentioned is 16 years old. So much has changed with technology and views within the Deaf community that much of the material more than 5 years old is really not representative of current views. Many Deaf now view CI as a tool just like a Hearing Aid. They assist some of us in communicating with the Hearing world in specific situations. The CI companies and to some extent the Medical Professionals have backed of from their overly optimistic comments about CI's too. Remember that most Deaf have hearing families that do not know sign language. Most Deaf would like to remain connected with and communicate with their families. CI was one option to assist in this. Sometimes getting CI's is the only thing to shut up begging and pleading parents.. (personal experience with that one). CI's have also been effective in relieving Tinnitus symptoms. I know many persons who identify as Deaf and have CI and it has not resulted in any of them using ASL any less or stopping them from identifying as Deaf or start identifying themselves as Hearing... If you do a poll asking people who I identify as Deaf or deaf and how often/long they use their CI, you will probably find huge variation. many Deaf probably don't even remember where they left their CI or the last time they used it (I'm in that group) to those (probably deaf identified) who use it 24/7 and actually sleep with it on or its the first thing they put on when they wake up, and the last thing they take off before going to sleep...

On the Flipside most deaf people that are from the Hearing world who get a CI will swear up and down that its the greatest thing since the invention of the wheel..

Most of the remaining ultra negative CI views will now be found in the older generations of Deaf.. Baby boomers and earlier..
 
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