|
Is the behavior of deaf people different from that of hearing people? From personal experience as a hard of hearing person I can assure you my behavior is different if I am wearing my hearing aid and if I am not. My behavior is also different depending on whether I’m with hearing people or Deaf people. My involvement with the Deaf education program at Lamar University and choice of a profession is directly tied to my status as a hard of hearing person. I can earn much more money in the field of computing technology than I can in the field of Deaf Studies. I choose to involve myself with Deaf Studies because that is where I find the most freedom of communication and the strongest sense of acceptance.
Culture is widely defined as a set of learned norms, values, and behaviors, passed down from generation to generation in a society. If there is such a thing as “Deaf Culture,” then there exists a set of learned behaviors associated with membership in the Deaf Community. For purposes of this discussion--every deaf person in the world doesn’t have to participate in this behavior. We simply need to show that a substantial number of deaf people have developed or learned a set of behaviors that are different from the set of behaviors used by the mainstream hearing society in which they live. Who decides whether or not there is such a thing as Deaf Culture? Cultural anthropologists would be a good start. Dr. Virginia Harrington, a cultural anthropologist formerly at Weber State University, has stated that Deaf Culture does indeed exist. (Harrington 1990) Dr. Barbara Kannapell of Gallaudet University teaches that members of the Deaf Community do share a culture and think differently than hearing people. (Kannapell 2000)
The minds and behavior of Deaf people are different from the minds and behavior of hearing people. That would indicate the existence of a “deaf psychology.” The study of the minds and behavior of deaf people is then accurately and appropriately referred to as “Psychology of Deafness” or the more culturally appropriate "Psychology of Deaf People."
Bibliography:
Bellugi, Ursulla (1988) [Interview]“The Mind: Language” [film]. The Mind Series, Vol. 7. WNET/New York: Educational Broadcasting Corp.
Funk, Wilfred & Lewis, Norman. (1942) “30 Days to a more powerful vocabulary” New York: Pocket Books, Inc.
Harrington, Virginia (1990) Personal conversation with the William Vicars.
Kannapell, Barbara (2000) “EDU 795” Online course. Gallaudet University.
Neville, Hellen (1988) [Interview]“The Mind: Language” [film]. The Mind Series, Vol. 7. WNET/New York: Educational Broadcasting Corp.
责任编辑：
读者评论：
发表评论：
相关文章：
|
