Deaf Culture

4 Pages 906 Words

Deaf Culture: Is it all Peaceful?

Deafness is not a disability but a different way of being. “So the members of the American deaf community are not characteristically isolated, or uncommunicative, or unintelligent or childlike, or needy, or any of these things we imagine them to be,” stated Harlan Lane (269). The deaf produce their own culture and way of living. Knowing that, what is a culture, what are factors in their culture, and why is there negativity associated with the deaf community producing their own culture?
Culture is what individuals learn in life. Cultures are taught. Individuals learn their culture from people within their society. They learn language, acceptable behavior, beliefs, customs, and values to help them throughout life. Cultures can also be viewed as a standard of living and be used as a sense of belonging. There are many cultures in this world. They range from cultures of a particular country to cultures of a certain group. There are even cultures within a culture. The deaf community for example has more than one culture. The main culture they learn is the culture they are raised in, basically, what their countries’ cultures are, but they are also part of their own culture. Deaf individuals have their own language, needs, and customs along with the mainstream culture they live in.
In the deaf community, they have their own opportunities for their group of people. They have schools, social activities, jobs, and forms of communication to say the least. Deaf grade schools and colleges are all over the country. One of the better-known colleges is Gallaudet University. According to Oliver Sacks, “Gallaudet is the only liberal arts college for the deaf in the world and is, moreover, the core of the world’s deaf community” as of 1988 (236). Gallaudet is also known for a riot that took place in March of 1988. The riot was to protest against selection of a hearing president for ...