Ch 8 & 9
(Skipped Chapter 7)
CH 8
Chapter eight discusses the theories behind what makes up and what shapes the Deaf community. The Deaf community is pretty obviously real. Scholars and others alike describe it as a linguistic, ethnic and/or social community. There are half a million deaf persons in the country that the Deaf Community directly affects. Why the community has moved in the direction is has is discussed in this chapter.
There are several theories about the development of the Deaf Community. The first theory would be the segregated education that the deaf go through at a Residential School. The students are in a place with other deaf people and interacting daily with them, often not seeing a hearing person for quite some time. However if this theory, that the residential schools formed the Deaf Community, is correct then does that mean that mainstreaming deaf students marks the end or decline of the Deaf community? I wouldn’t think so. The Deaf community is a strong one. It has made it through more harsh predicaments in its history than fighting mainstreaming.
The second theory of what may have shaped the Deaf Community is that the Deaf people reacted to mistreatment and rejection by the majority of the population. One quote in the book said basically that the deaf prefer to be part of the majority population, but because the majority tends to reject or ignore them. Because of this, the deaf react by seeking each other out to feel a sense of community.
The third theory of why the Deaf Community formed is said to be the ease with which they can communicate with each other. The Deaf Community is sometimes described as a linguistic community. I can agree that signing is a very large part of the culture and community. The fact that members of the Deaf Community can easily and readily communicate with each other may be a reason that the Deaf Community formed. They share a common language together. One Quote in the book says “The subculture of deaf persons has its roots in their urgent need to nullify the communication barrier.”
Supposedly the most thorough description in the book of the Deaf Community is that membership is based on shared experiences, identification and involvement. Sign language may be a very important part of the community, but it does not shape it. It does bind them together. But so does shared suffered stigmatism. The members of the Deaf community can relate to each other.
The next part of the chapter discusses five factors that make up the Deaf Community based on the views of the author. These five factors are: Demography, Alienation, Affiliation, Education, and the Milieu. Demography is the basic characteristics that make up any group; age, sex, geographic location, etc. Alienation is when someone does not fit in or is ignored by the majority population. Deaf people tend to share this experience of alienation and come together because of it. Affiliation is the next factor and that is the tendency to seek others out and establish conditions that make it possible to come together and interact. Next is education, which has certainly shaped the Deaf community, but the author does not believe is the cause of the Deaf community. I agree whole-heartedly. The milieu is the final factor. We as people tend to create for ourselves communities within communities. The deaf people have simply created their own community within the majority community. And the Deaf Community, of the deaf not FOR the deaf, is unique in that it’s the only “disability group” to have formed an actual community.
When examining the interactions of these five factors, the book uses the ‘Deaf President Now’ events. First of all, the demography of the school was amazingly in favor of the deaf, despite what the hearing board and hearing elected president thought. The student population is, duh, deaf. So the demographic was definitely on their side: young, spirited and ready for an intelligent fight.
The board, made up of mostly (or all, maybe I read it wrong) hearing members alienated the student’s feelings. They ignored the fact that the college wanted a deaf president to run a deaf college. This alienation is what brought the students together to start the movement for a deaf president.
The students, teachers and other supporters affiliated with each other. They brought the media in, and the country saw that the new president and the board members could not sign. It must have embarrassed leaders of a deaf college to admit they had no idea how to communicate with the students. And the students got a good laugh out of humiliating them.
The students’ education was a major factor in the DPN events. They were college students who had themselves just completed student government elections. Their education was also a lot more open, understanding, supportive, etc than previous generations had had. These students were smart and together because of their higher education. They had the knowledge to know what needed to be done to get the board to retract their decision.
Finally, thanks to the media coverage of the events that took place, the majority population saw what was happening and rallied on the side of the students. Their Deaf community had come to others’ attention and was viewed as a real, valid response to a crummy situation. The students did a great job no doubt, but it was probably the media attention that caused the board to change its mind.
All the theories discussed in this chapter are valid, strong points. Each has its own points of accuracy. I can only take what I have learned on my own and from all the reading I’ve done on the subject to form my own opinions about the Deaf community. I don’t believe I am anywhere near competent enough yet to form such a decision. One thing I know for sure, and it was quoted right there in the text: Being deaf does not make one less human.
CH 9
Chapter nine discusses the “Theory at work”. The Theory is what was discussed in chapter eight; the Demography, alienation, affiliation, education and milieu. Now the author attempts to make predictions about the future of the Deaf community based on this theory. He says there are five possible changed in the five factors: an alteration in demographics, differing attitudes from the general population towards the disabled, the possibility of the new approach of linguistics towards ASL may affect the community, how will development in education and technology influence the Deaf Community, and what will happen when the milieu changes.
A change in the demographics of the Deaf community might come about in three possible ways, according to the author. The number of Deaf people may decrease, stay the same, or increase. The Decrease seems to be unlikely. Even if medicine comes up with a “cure” for deafness, the Deaf community will continue until it can no longer support itself. The Deaf community started in this country at ten thousand in numbers. Today the community is constituted by about five hundred thousand members. This number indicates that a national drop in the deaf population is pretty unlikely. But local numbers may decline, due to any number of reasons. If the population in a local area drops, the deaf members still left might relocate to be nearer to other deaf people.
It is believed that the number and rate of deafness in this country will grow right along with the general population. In 1980, according to the book, there were 243 deaf people for every 100,000 normally hearing people. If the current population boom continues, but the year 2050 there will be 362 deaf persons for every 100,000 normally hearing persons. If the world population grows as it’s guessed, in 2050 there will be three hundred million people in the world. One million of those people will be deaf.
If this number is accurate, the opportunities for the Deaf community could increase in great numbers. Their presence would be apparent to political, educational, organizational, medical, and whatever other “icals” there are out there. However, not all these deaf persons will be born deaf. The US’s population is living longer and longer. The likely hood that an elderly person will lose their hearing later in life is very likely. A good portion of the deaf population in the years to come may be made up of the elderly.
If the deaf population is older, they may have a more conservative approach to issues that deal with deafness. This means that there may not be as many opportunities as originally thought. People who go deaf later in life may not be as interested in the Deaf community as life-long members are. However, the greater numbers will make the general population notice them more.
If the number of the deaf population declined, it is believed that the Deaf community would become stronger. I agree with this view. The Deaf have come together for decades, overcoming adversity and finding comfort in each other. Even if their numbers become smaller, they will still have the need to seek each other out because of the factors of alienation and affiliation.
As for alienation of the deaf, this is becoming less of a problem in some ways. The public is becoming increasingly interested in ASL, and mainstreaming deaf students changes normally hearing people’s perception of the deaf. With this trend, the Deaf population may be less inclined to hide from the general population, but it still will not affect their need to seek each other out. Hearing people avoid deaf people because they are difficult to communicate with, is what the book says. Many misunderstandings can occur, and the situation could become embarrassing. This attitude is not thought to be in any kind of decline and will probably always be around.
The Deaf community’s affiliation will probably gain numbers and force. The book gave a quote from a researcher. He believes “that feelings of inferiority will ‘diminish rapidly and then disappear as Deaf communities struggle for and begin to achieve self-determination and linguistic self respect”. I thought this quote was pretty good. We’re all like this. But I don’t think the Deaf community will suffer from this at all. We may gain new levels of respect or achievements in our lives, but we always head back to our roots where we feel at home.
If the Deaf community becomes more involved in deaf education in the near future, they will gain greater influence on the Deaf community. With the example of DPN, the school itself had a considerably large population of Deaf students. That seems to be the only way that they succeeded in their fight. Other schools around the country probably wouldn’t have had the same success, or may not even have attempted at all with out the coaxing of the Deaf Community itself. If more schools had the awareness of the Deaf culture, more deaf students, more deaf influence, maybe education for the deaf could have the same impact as that at Gallaudet.
The book says the general attitude towards minorities fluctuates with the rise and fall of a countries economic condition. When the economy is good, the politics are liberal and wiling to listen and help. When the economy is bad, the minorities will suffer. They’ll be ignored.
With telecommunication devices comes more change for the Deaf community, though not really for the worse. Captioned movies bring the Deaf together, while captioned television keeps them at home. TDDs and email might lesson face to face time within the Deaf community, but the information gained through these devices have given them greater access to information that they couldn’t get to before with out going over to a friend’s house. And telecommunication devices may improve a deaf person’s English.
(The next part talks of cochlear implants, but that’s been talked about to death by our class so I’m skipping it).
Finally, changes in the community’s environment. The deaf community is “not solely a reactor in the arena, it is also an actor capable of exerting its own influence on the environment.” Any changes in the Deaf environment, whether induced by hearing people or by deaf people, will affect the Deaf community.
The five factors of this Theory do not act alone, and each is dependant upon the other. I took the last quote in the book to close this with “Whatever factors intrude or accentuate or attenuate the trends, Deaf society will be worth a case study. It offers society more than it takes from it culturally”. I agree, I can’t believe that the most recent research most of these books can come up with is over twenty years old. It’s about time someone paid the Deaf community the attention it deserves.
CH 8
Chapter eight discusses the theories behind what makes up and what shapes the Deaf community. The Deaf community is pretty obviously real. Scholars and others alike describe it as a linguistic, ethnic and/or social community. There are half a million deaf persons in the country that the Deaf Community directly affects. Why the community has moved in the direction is has is discussed in this chapter.
There are several theories about the development of the Deaf Community. The first theory would be the segregated education that the deaf go through at a Residential School. The students are in a place with other deaf people and interacting daily with them, often not seeing a hearing person for quite some time. However if this theory, that the residential schools formed the Deaf Community, is correct then does that mean that mainstreaming deaf students marks the end or decline of the Deaf community? I wouldn’t think so. The Deaf community is a strong one. It has made it through more harsh predicaments in its history than fighting mainstreaming.
The second theory of what may have shaped the Deaf Community is that the Deaf people reacted to mistreatment and rejection by the majority of the population. One quote in the book said basically that the deaf prefer to be part of the majority population, but because the majority tends to reject or ignore them. Because of this, the deaf react by seeking each other out to feel a sense of community.
The third theory of why the Deaf Community formed is said to be the ease with which they can communicate with each other. The Deaf Community is sometimes described as a linguistic community. I can agree that signing is a very large part of the culture and community. The fact that members of the Deaf Community can easily and readily communicate with each other may be a reason that the Deaf Community formed. They share a common language together. One Quote in the book says “The subculture of deaf persons has its roots in their urgent need to nullify the communication barrier.”
Supposedly the most thorough description in the book of the Deaf Community is that membership is based on shared experiences, identification and involvement. Sign language may be a very important part of the community, but it does not shape it. It does bind them together. But so does shared suffered stigmatism. The members of the Deaf community can relate to each other.
The next part of the chapter discusses five factors that make up the Deaf Community based on the views of the author. These five factors are: Demography, Alienation, Affiliation, Education, and the Milieu. Demography is the basic characteristics that make up any group; age, sex, geographic location, etc. Alienation is when someone does not fit in or is ignored by the majority population. Deaf people tend to share this experience of alienation and come together because of it. Affiliation is the next factor and that is the tendency to seek others out and establish conditions that make it possible to come together and interact. Next is education, which has certainly shaped the Deaf community, but the author does not believe is the cause of the Deaf community. I agree whole-heartedly. The milieu is the final factor. We as people tend to create for ourselves communities within communities. The deaf people have simply created their own community within the majority community. And the Deaf Community, of the deaf not FOR the deaf, is unique in that it’s the only “disability group” to have formed an actual community.
When examining the interactions of these five factors, the book uses the ‘Deaf President Now’ events. First of all, the demography of the school was amazingly in favor of the deaf, despite what the hearing board and hearing elected president thought. The student population is, duh, deaf. So the demographic was definitely on their side: young, spirited and ready for an intelligent fight.
The board, made up of mostly (or all, maybe I read it wrong) hearing members alienated the student’s feelings. They ignored the fact that the college wanted a deaf president to run a deaf college. This alienation is what brought the students together to start the movement for a deaf president.
The students, teachers and other supporters affiliated with each other. They brought the media in, and the country saw that the new president and the board members could not sign. It must have embarrassed leaders of a deaf college to admit they had no idea how to communicate with the students. And the students got a good laugh out of humiliating them.
The students’ education was a major factor in the DPN events. They were college students who had themselves just completed student government elections. Their education was also a lot more open, understanding, supportive, etc than previous generations had had. These students were smart and together because of their higher education. They had the knowledge to know what needed to be done to get the board to retract their decision.
Finally, thanks to the media coverage of the events that took place, the majority population saw what was happening and rallied on the side of the students. Their Deaf community had come to others’ attention and was viewed as a real, valid response to a crummy situation. The students did a great job no doubt, but it was probably the media attention that caused the board to change its mind.
All the theories discussed in this chapter are valid, strong points. Each has its own points of accuracy. I can only take what I have learned on my own and from all the reading I’ve done on the subject to form my own opinions about the Deaf community. I don’t believe I am anywhere near competent enough yet to form such a decision. One thing I know for sure, and it was quoted right there in the text: Being deaf does not make one less human.
CH 9
Chapter nine discusses the “Theory at work”. The Theory is what was discussed in chapter eight; the Demography, alienation, affiliation, education and milieu. Now the author attempts to make predictions about the future of the Deaf community based on this theory. He says there are five possible changed in the five factors: an alteration in demographics, differing attitudes from the general population towards the disabled, the possibility of the new approach of linguistics towards ASL may affect the community, how will development in education and technology influence the Deaf Community, and what will happen when the milieu changes.
A change in the demographics of the Deaf community might come about in three possible ways, according to the author. The number of Deaf people may decrease, stay the same, or increase. The Decrease seems to be unlikely. Even if medicine comes up with a “cure” for deafness, the Deaf community will continue until it can no longer support itself. The Deaf community started in this country at ten thousand in numbers. Today the community is constituted by about five hundred thousand members. This number indicates that a national drop in the deaf population is pretty unlikely. But local numbers may decline, due to any number of reasons. If the population in a local area drops, the deaf members still left might relocate to be nearer to other deaf people.
It is believed that the number and rate of deafness in this country will grow right along with the general population. In 1980, according to the book, there were 243 deaf people for every 100,000 normally hearing people. If the current population boom continues, but the year 2050 there will be 362 deaf persons for every 100,000 normally hearing persons. If the world population grows as it’s guessed, in 2050 there will be three hundred million people in the world. One million of those people will be deaf.
If this number is accurate, the opportunities for the Deaf community could increase in great numbers. Their presence would be apparent to political, educational, organizational, medical, and whatever other “icals” there are out there. However, not all these deaf persons will be born deaf. The US’s population is living longer and longer. The likely hood that an elderly person will lose their hearing later in life is very likely. A good portion of the deaf population in the years to come may be made up of the elderly.
If the deaf population is older, they may have a more conservative approach to issues that deal with deafness. This means that there may not be as many opportunities as originally thought. People who go deaf later in life may not be as interested in the Deaf community as life-long members are. However, the greater numbers will make the general population notice them more.
If the number of the deaf population declined, it is believed that the Deaf community would become stronger. I agree with this view. The Deaf have come together for decades, overcoming adversity and finding comfort in each other. Even if their numbers become smaller, they will still have the need to seek each other out because of the factors of alienation and affiliation.
As for alienation of the deaf, this is becoming less of a problem in some ways. The public is becoming increasingly interested in ASL, and mainstreaming deaf students changes normally hearing people’s perception of the deaf. With this trend, the Deaf population may be less inclined to hide from the general population, but it still will not affect their need to seek each other out. Hearing people avoid deaf people because they are difficult to communicate with, is what the book says. Many misunderstandings can occur, and the situation could become embarrassing. This attitude is not thought to be in any kind of decline and will probably always be around.
The Deaf community’s affiliation will probably gain numbers and force. The book gave a quote from a researcher. He believes “that feelings of inferiority will ‘diminish rapidly and then disappear as Deaf communities struggle for and begin to achieve self-determination and linguistic self respect”. I thought this quote was pretty good. We’re all like this. But I don’t think the Deaf community will suffer from this at all. We may gain new levels of respect or achievements in our lives, but we always head back to our roots where we feel at home.
If the Deaf community becomes more involved in deaf education in the near future, they will gain greater influence on the Deaf community. With the example of DPN, the school itself had a considerably large population of Deaf students. That seems to be the only way that they succeeded in their fight. Other schools around the country probably wouldn’t have had the same success, or may not even have attempted at all with out the coaxing of the Deaf Community itself. If more schools had the awareness of the Deaf culture, more deaf students, more deaf influence, maybe education for the deaf could have the same impact as that at Gallaudet.
The book says the general attitude towards minorities fluctuates with the rise and fall of a countries economic condition. When the economy is good, the politics are liberal and wiling to listen and help. When the economy is bad, the minorities will suffer. They’ll be ignored.
With telecommunication devices comes more change for the Deaf community, though not really for the worse. Captioned movies bring the Deaf together, while captioned television keeps them at home. TDDs and email might lesson face to face time within the Deaf community, but the information gained through these devices have given them greater access to information that they couldn’t get to before with out going over to a friend’s house. And telecommunication devices may improve a deaf person’s English.
(The next part talks of cochlear implants, but that’s been talked about to death by our class so I’m skipping it).
Finally, changes in the community’s environment. The deaf community is “not solely a reactor in the arena, it is also an actor capable of exerting its own influence on the environment.” Any changes in the Deaf environment, whether induced by hearing people or by deaf people, will affect the Deaf community.
The five factors of this Theory do not act alone, and each is dependant upon the other. I took the last quote in the book to close this with “Whatever factors intrude or accentuate or attenuate the trends, Deaf society will be worth a case study. It offers society more than it takes from it culturally”. I agree, I can’t believe that the most recent research most of these books can come up with is over twenty years old. It’s about time someone paid the Deaf community the attention it deserves.