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What is Kim's definition of Deaf Culture

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What is Kim's definition of Deaf Culture

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Cultures nowawadys SHOULD bridge humans not create divisions. Language should unite cultures not divide.

When people ask me about Deaf culture and ask whether I am part of Deaf culture, I reply " Yes I am but also I am as known as Kim Nichols" I have found stating or framing Deaf culture as simply Deaf experience or my experience - in terms of prejudice and differences - people are more receptive and respectful.  I like music. I like non-Deaf art. I like using my voice. Does this mean I am less Deaf than others despite the fact we share the same experience or undergo same prejudice...

I am Kim. I am human. ....

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"Deaf Space" Eckert observed "When the spatial territory is modified, expression of Deaf ethnicity is reorganized but not eliminated." We , as Deaf community, have created and encouraged Deaf eco-system where Deaf business, art and services flourish via co-dependence.

Off a tangent, Deaf Space  - is also an architectural term where Deaf experience and needs dictates the environment.
Gallaudet has taken lead in this direction.

So Eckert is correct in a sense that Deaf Space has been redefined into a different medium and will not be eliminated.

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A New Architecture for a More Livable and Sustainable World | Hansel Bauman | TEDxGallaudet

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When I first entered Gallaudet, in my Deaf Study class, I came across this image - since been etched on my heart. Such a powerful statement about Sign Language and Manualism. This reminds me about Humphries (2008) comments about art criticism. We have not yet 'evolved' to the point where we are comfortable to be art critics. Same for a Deaf- owned restaurant. We are not yet a full blown culture by some definition as at times we are not comfortable within our skins. We cannot criticize others' work (not the artist)...yet...

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Eckert (2010) explains that there are those who criticize individuals for claiming a Deaf identity while at the same time collecting SSDI benefits. The barriers to employment that Deaf people face have to do with lack of equal access and discrimination. There are very few jobs that absolutely require hearing for example some jobs in the music industry. SSDI provides an immediate remedy for the economic reality of unemployment. Criticizing Deaf people for receiving SSDI adds insult to injury. Society discriminates and bars access and makes it difficult for Deaf people to find employment and then criticizes them for needing financial help. It is the same attitude we see perpetuated towards members of other ethnic minorities who have been historically disadvantaged.

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Is Deafness a Disability or a Social Problem?

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Is Deafness a Disability or a Social Problem?

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In Aston (2004) article he mentioned a comparison of blacks wanting black babies and dwarfs wanting dwarf babies.  Is dwarfism a disability? I found that really interesting and looked into a little more.  I have not made a conclusion as to whether I think it is a disability or not but I did find some supporting information which led me to believe that deafness is more of a 'social problem' than a disability.  The social model of disability, as explained by Aston (2004), claims the disability is understood as a construct of the society in which the deaf exist rather than trying to make disabled people fit within the existing environment.  I was trying to find a good visual for this concept and the image below was perfect!
https://pics.me.me/equality-versus-equity-in-the-third-image-all-three-in-19055261.png

With the many explanations of what 'disabled' means in comparison to 'normal', it is my opinion that every single one of us would have some sort of disability that separates us from each other and creates a problem which prevents us from being able to function in the real world in a 'normal' fashion.

Aston, B. (2004). Is Deafness a Disability or a Culture? SA3207 Health Care Policy & Ethics.

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The invention of cochlear implants has spurred a debate which highlights the contrast between the culture vs. disability viewpoints.  Richard Clark Eckert references Tucker (2004) in saying,  "Tucker’s argument is framed ﬁrst by identifying Deaf people as second-class citizens using a Washington Post as proof of second-class citizenship and then claiming that cochlear implant technology will ‘‘alleviate the ramiﬁcations of deafness’’ (p. 186)" (2010, p.3).  This is an example of the medical-disability view that the Deaf community rejects.

Eckert, R. C. (2010).  Toward a Theory of Deaf Ethos: Deafnicity = D/deaf (Homaemon, Homoglosson, Homothreskon). Journal of Deaf Studies and Deaf Education Advanced Access

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In reading Humphries (2008) discussion was made on how can we see the "Deaf" in the work?  What is Deaf art?  How Deaf does the artist have to be? Does there have to be evidence in the art piece that identifies it as "Deaf"? Humphries states that there seems to be no clear guidelines as to how we define Deaf art and while art is ever changing we can still look at the art work and determine if it portrays 'Deaf experience(s)'.  I was surprised that it never mentioned anything about the De'VIA manifesto written up by a group of 9 Deaf artists in 1989.  IN the manifesto it talks about formal art elements with the intention of expressing innate cultural or physical Deaf experience.  It also explains the difference between Deaf artists and De'VIA artists.  The biggest about this and what Humphries is referring to is the De'VIA manifesto is geared more towards the 'visual' arts and not the 'performing/literacy' arts.

Humphries, T. (2008). Talking Culture and Culture Talking. In Open Your Eyes. Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota Press.
http://www.deafart.org/Deaf_Art_/deaf_art_.html

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The ASL Language in itself was not enough to prove Deaf Culture was a true culture.  More artifacts of the language, or in this case 'literacy', needed to be provided.  This was scary for the Deaf people because it meant they had to decide what they wanted the rest of the world to know about their true inner world, Deaf experiences.  For many years the Deaf would 'make nice' with the hearing people and tell them what they wanted to hear.  So to begin sharing or 'Talking Culture' the Deaf people were very selective on what they shared with the public. the video below is a good compilation of some of the earlier documented works of ASL. It's interesting the see the progression the language has taken over time.

Humphries, T. (2008). Talking Culture and Culture Talking. In Open Your Eyes. Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota Press.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=130&v=vdNUkQBMqiw

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Blauner (1969) Discusses a comparison of racial-ethnic oppression to the internal colonization of the Deaf community using an example of how a colony of Black people, such as those in Harlem, will experience more discrimination than those in the immigrant populations.  Compare this to how deaf oralist who live within the hearing world will experience less discrimination than those who assimilate more in the Deaf community.  The threat of 'Black Power' and 'Deaf Power' seems to create a stigma in which the hearing/white majority feel needs to be controlled and their way of trying to control is through exploitation.  If you assimilate with the majority you will not stand out as much and you will be closer the 'normal' and discrimination is minimal.
Photo by: Jasun Hicks
Richard Clark, E. (2010). Toward a Theory of Deaf Ethnos: Deafnicity ≈ D/deaf (Hómaemon • Homóglosson • Homóthreskon). Journal Of Deaf Studies And Deaf Education, 5.

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Culture or Disability? Examining Deaf Characters in Children's Book Illustrations

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Culture or Disability? Examining Deaf Characters in Children's Book Illustrations

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A study has been conducted on Children illustrated books to examine how characters are portrayed, culturally or pathologically. From a list of 20 books which talk about deafness at any level, only 3 books will convey illustrations from a 'cultural' point of view. "Dad and Me in the Morning" only has one image, "A Place for Grace" has two, and "The Garden Wall" has four.  That's a total of 7!  From the 20 books listed!  From a pathological perspective, they found 95 images.  I understand that this a limited selection and there are more books on deafness for children out there but this blows my mind.  How are we supposed to promote 'culture' to Deaf children when most of the books depict deafness as a 'disability'?

Golos, D. D., Moses, A., & Wolbers, K. (2012). Culture or Disability? Examining Deaf Characters in Children's Book Illustrations. Early Childhood Education Journal, 40(4), 239-249.

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"Mission of ASL Slam:
● to present and encourage new, and experimental work using poetry, performance art, improvisation, literature, visual art, language and music.

● to provide a venue for emerging and established artists to present their work in a safe and supportive environment

● We use video production as a means to preserve Sign Language and expose artists to a wide audience.

● We preserve and enrich cultural experiences in both Deaf and hearing communities

● To make a difference and impact change."
(www.aslslam.com)

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Spoken Without Words: Poetry with ASL SLAM

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Historically according to Humphries (2008) , Deaf Culture "..discourse that was about themselves, their beliefs,their interpretation of the world, their needs and their dreams". However, on the other hand, we have Ashton (2004) who echoes Kant in his arguments stated "..the deliberate pro-creation of a disability is wrong because a child is an end...would suggest that the child should have the ability to make choices when it matures." By employing this tact, Ashton claims that it appears 'inhuman' for black wanting black children and dwarfs preferring dwarfs. The 'inhuman' implication reveals that the equates deaf with disability in a negative light.  Ashton is actualizing a construct which he expects others to accept regarding the deaf by using not positive denotations by describing the deaf culture 'compensation' being unable to bridge the gap created by the estrangement. One must wonder - who created the estrangement or the gap?

In Eckert (2010), in the vein of race and ethnicity commented  Myrdal's study (1944).  The cycle of prejudice is one I can personally relate to - but to characterize a culture on the existence of prejudice and Deaf experience.  This cycle constitutes the experience Deaf undergoes on daily basis whether overt or covert.

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In 1913, the president of the National Association of the Deaf, George Veditz made a film discussing the importance of American Sign Language.   Today NAD carries on this legacy.  On their website they state, "The NAD recognizes that American Sign Language (ASL) is the backbone of the American deaf culture. The NAD values the acquisition, usage and preservation of ASL and is a recognized leader in promoting the acquisition, learning, teaching, and interpreting of ASL. The NAD was created in part to promote and preserve ASL as a legitimate language and an optimal educational tool for deaf children and adults." (https://www.nad.org/resources/american-sign-language/)

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The National Association of the Deaf (NAD)

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The Preservation of Sign Language by George W. Veditz

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This trailer perfectly depicts deaf culture, Deafnicity, and Deafhood. "Talking culture and Culture Talking" by Humphries, relates to "Deaf Out Loud" Deaf people publicly express their culture. Humphries states that if they were private about their culture then, the hearing community would not understand what deaf culture is.
"Deaf Out Loud" premieres on A&E 8pm tonight. The viewer will learn about the deaf perspective, and why they are proud to be deaf. They are proud of their culture and the hearing community should be proud of their culture as well.
(Talking Culture and Culture Talking/Tom Humphries)
(Aetv.com)

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Culture and identity are crucial for deaf individuals and DHH students. Many deaf children have a hard time finding their identity, and are not proud to be deaf. Immersion with other deaf children will help find their identity. More deaf children should be proud to be deaf. "Deafnicity" and "Deafhood" should be taught in classrooms.
(Blogspot.com)

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Below is a short film documentary on Deaf Culture that I created a few years ago, during my time as an undergraduate student. I felt it was relevant to include in this discussion of culture as it has several interviews with people of the Deaf Community. Deaf and hearing alike. It also shows the misconceptions of deafness in mainstream society and the lack of understanding in the incidence of deafness in families and the world at large.

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Deafnicity describes itself. The deaf community is unified, full of culture, and love. Ethnicity should be included in deaf culture, therefore, naming it "Deafnicity".Ethnicity stems from a single person's identity. A person grows to love their culture, ethnicity and identity. The more a deaf individual is immersed in deaf culture the more "deafnicity" they will have. ASL is so important to deaf culture. It was taken away from them with A.G Bell. The deaf community will always love and preserve their beautiful language. "Sign language is a critical component of Deaf identity and culture. Lane et al. (in press), Lane (2005), and Eckert (2005) do emphasize the importance of sign language in their modifications to ethnicity."
(Richard Clark Eckert/ Toward a Theory of Deaf Ethnos Deafnicity/ 2009)

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Audism is still in full effect. Although, not as extreme it still exists today. This piece of art is a perfect depiction of the hearing peoples perspective on deafness. Many hearing people decides not to learn about deaf  culture which  creates "the family dog" aspect. The family dog is still connected with the family, however, is on a much hierarchy than the rest.
(Susan/Dupor' The Family Dog")

Deaf art is an important symbol for deaf culture. It depicts feelings and perspectives. It is also very blunt, similar to deaf culture. "To seek out deaf art that explicitly promotes the notion that we can see the "Deaf" in the work." (Tom Humphries/Jan 08)
"Talking Culture and Culture Talking

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“There are two main discourses to understanding deafness, the medical construction and the socio-cultural construction.” Most understandable to the hearing world, deafness fits under the definition for disability." (Ben Aston) Why is it that hearing people look at deaf individuals as having a disability, and the deaf community does not associate with themselves as having a disability. The only thing they cannot do is they can't hear. The deaf community wants to be in unification with the hearing world. A deaf person can do everything a hearing a person can do, except hear.

"Ben Aston, IS Deafness a Culture or Disability"

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Disability That Perpetuated a Culture...

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Disability That Perpetuated a Culture...

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In the hearing world deafness is mostly viewed as a disability without regard to Deaf people and how they choose to identify. In his research paper, Ben Aston claims that deafness is not a culture, but that the disability itself created a group of people that identify as a culture. He is against the notion of Deaf people desiring Deaf babies and that they should not seek out methods in order for this desire to be realized. "...The deliberate procreation of a disability is wrong because a child is an end, not a means." (Aston, 2004). He does however admit that a culture was created because of this disability which he also states can not be ignored.

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Deafnicity is a proposition that frames Deaf American identity and culture in a context that can be historically compared with other ethnic populations. It is derived from the concept of the Greek word ethnos. (Eckert, 2010. p. 8) Eckert argues that Deaf culture should accept the term ethnos which is comprised of a community of common origin, a linguistic community, and a community of religion, rather than ethnie which is the traditional concept of culture that involves a shared history, common decent, etc. Is the concept of Deafnicity equal to the concept of D/deaf as those who identify with Deaf culture view themselves? This is truly something to think about and analyze thoroughly. It would be interesting to see if the Deaf community is accepting of this term and if they will use it in tangent with capital D.

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Before the 1960's and 1970's when ASL made a comeback Deaf individuals kept their language and culture to themselves. Because of the traumatic experiences from hearing people, Deaf people were hesitant in sharing their culture and language with them. They were dubious of hearing people's intentions. But, in short the desire to express Deaf culture prevailed and a wave of enlightenment swept through society. Artists (ASL poets) like Dorothy Miles and Ella Lentz left their footprints in this revolution. However, In the race to authenticate Deaf culture scholars demanded proof, artifacts, and literature, basically things that made up a culture. This sent the Deaf in a frenzy. What could they gather as proof, how far back in history could they go? How Deaf did the contributor need to be? The most significant outcome in the effort to collect Deaf literature and art was the video "The Preservation of the Sign Language," by George Veditz. However,  this is still an ongoing journey, according to Humphries and one that he has high hopes for.

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Eckert (2010) explains that the decline of residential schools and Deaf clubs has led to the reorganization of deaf territory into the use of temporary spaces such as campgrounds and parks (p.6). Deaf territory has also come to include parts of the internet where people can interact through vlogs.

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See vlogs by your favorite vloggers Log in to view or add to your Favorite Vloggers list. You don't have any Bookmarked Videos. ( See how to add)

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This painting created by Chuck Baird shows the hearing world's obsession with the ear and their constant effort to repair it. Rather than accepting the Deaf people for who they are. They would rather fix the problem and throw them back into society as "functioning" individuals instead of opening up a new and different world for them, the Deaf community. In the words written by Richard Clark Eckert, "Doctors tend to view disabilities as deviations from the mainstream norm that should be corrected if possible." (Eckert, 2010). Hence why so many cochlear implantation surgeries are performed and why so many deaf children don't know how to identify or what world they belong to.