I. General Information

1. Course Title:
Deaf Culture

2. Course Prefix & Number:
AMSL 2420

3. Course Credits and Contact Hours:

Credits: 3

Lecture Hours: 3

Lab Hours: 0

4. Course Description:

No sign language experience is necessary for this course! This class introduces students to the history and culture of Deaf people. Students will study the influences in Deaf culture, the implications of being pathologically deaf vs. culturally Deaf, and various aspects of Deaf community and culture. The course also examines the historical treatment of deaf people as well as educational influences, causes, and treatment of deafness. MnTC Goals 6 and 7

5. Placement Tests Required:

Accuplacer (specify test):

Reading College Level CLC or Reading College Level

Score:

6. Prerequisite Courses:

There are no prerequisites for this course.

9. Co-requisite Courses:

There are no corequisites for this course.

II. Transfer and Articulation

1. Course Equivalency - similar course from other regional institutions:

St. Paul College, ASLS 1435 Deaf Studies/Culture, 3 credits
St. Catherine University, ASL 2010 Introduction to American Deaf Culture, 4 credits
University of Minnesota, ASL 3705 Cultural Perspectives of Deafness, 3 credits
University of MN-Duluth, ASL 4110 Deaf Culture, 3 credits

2. Transfer - regional institutions with which this course has a written articulation agreement:

III. Course Purpose

1. Program-Applicable Courses – This course is required for the following program(s):

Deaf Studies, Certificate
Child Development/ASL, AAS

2. MN Transfer Curriculum (General Education) Courses - This course fulfills the following goal area(s) of the MN Transfer Curriculum:

• Goal 6 – Humanities and Fine Arts
• Goal 7 – Human Diversity

IV. Learning Outcomes

1. College-Wide Outcomes

College-Wide Outcomes/Competencies	Students will be able to:
Demonstrate oral communication skills	Participate in small group discussions to analyze specific cultural elements and compare and contrast to mainstream hearing culture
Demonstrate interpersonal communication skills	Demonstrate cultural sensitivity toward different cultures, values and beliefs
Discuss/compare characteristics of diverse cultures and environments	Identify common characteristics associated with Deaf Culture and how those norms and traditions differ from mainstream culture.

2. Course Specific Outcomes - Students will be able to achieve the following measurable goals upon completion of the course:

• Respond critically to works related to Deaf culture in the arts and humanities.  MnTC Goal 6
• Understand those works as expressions of individual and human values within and historical and social context.  MnTC Goal 6
• Articulate an informed personal reaction to works in the arts and humanities.  MnTC Goal 6
• Demonstrate awareness of the variety of works within Deaf culture and how they tie into the larger scope of humanities and arts.  MnTC Goal 6
• Analyze their own attitudes, behaviors, concepts and beliefs regarding diversity and audism.  MnTC Goal 7
• Describe and discuss the experience and contributions of Deaf culture.  MnTC Goal 7
• Understand the development of and the changing meanings of group identities in the US’ history and culture.  MnTC Goal 7
• Recognize Audism and create a plan of how they can fight it in their everyday lives. 
• Demonstrate an awareness of the individual and institutional dynamics of unequal power relations between groups in contemporary society.  MnTC Goal 7

V. Topical Outline

Listed below are major areas of content typically covered in this course.

1. Lecture Sessions

1. The Deaf Community and the Culture of Deaf People Introduction
   • Pathological vs. Cultural, community vs. culture
   • Characteristics of the Deaf Community
   • Cultural values of the Deaf community
   • Deaf vs. deaf
2. CODA’s
   • ASL vs. English
3. HISTORICAL ASPECTS OF DEAFNESS
   • History of Manual Alphabets
   • Ancient Perspectives related to deafness
   • ’Documented’ causes of deafness
   • Early ‘treatments’ for deafness
   • Historical perspectives on deafness
   • Deafness as a ‘center’
4. HISTORICAL ASPECTS OF DEAFNESS (Cont)
   • History of ASL, Gallaudet and Laurent Clerc
   • Comparing ASL and English
   • Pioneers of Deaf Education
5. MISC
   • Name Signs
6. NAD
   • Milan Convention
   • Collectivist vs. Individualistic Cultures
   • Types of Communication in the Deaf community (fragmentary, one-way, various communication styles.
7. DPN
   • Deaf President Now Intro
   • Importance of Interpreters
   • Appropriate terminology
8. DPN / Interpreters
   • PN Issues, Viewpoints, Profiles and Impact
   • Interpreters Code of Conduct
   • Poem: You’d Have to Be Deaf to Understand
   • Culture norm: Lateness
9. COCHLEAR IMPLANTS
   • The Sound and Fury: Communication Wars
   • What are CI’s and how does the community feel about them?
   • Surrogate Decision Making
   • Thoughts of a Deaf Child
   • Move “At First Sight” comparison
   • Cultural norm: Leavetaking
10. ELEMENTS OF DEAF CULTURE
    • Concepts/Elements of Deaf Culture
    • A Deaf person in the 1980’s compared to now
    • Deaf person terminology change to ‘Seeing Person?’
    • Feelings of Deaf parents on the birth of their Deaf children
    • English as a SECOND language for people who are Deaf
    • Cultural Norm: Privacy
11. AUDISM
    • Audism: Unveiled DVD
    • Simultaneous Communication
    • Deaf as your ‘center’
    • Cultural Norm: Feedback
12. DEAF HUMOR
    • Reflections of American Deaf Humor and Oppression
    • Deaf Jokes and Humor
    • Cultural experiences as it relates to humor
    • Learning Japanese in a Sound proof booth
13. EUGENICS AND MARTHA’S VINEYARD
    • AGB- Repressive Method
    • ”Crying Hands”-Holocaust survivors
    • Martha’s Vineyard and “A Place of Their Own”
    • Deaf Holocaust survivor
14. LINGUISTIC MINORITY / INTERPRETERS
    • The Etiquette of Social Conversations in ASL
    • Deaf as a Linguistic Minority
    • Ella Mae Lentz Poem: “Eye Music”
    • RID: Professional Sign Language Interpreting
    • NAD/RID Cod of Professional Conduct
    • Interpreting vs. Transliteration
    • Minority Group vs. Disability Group
15. ASPECTS OF DEAF EDUCATION/DEAF POETRY
    • Total Communication
    • Bilingual/Bicultural Approach
    • NAD’s Position Paper on Inclusion
    • Deaf Poetry: Cara Barnett
    • Deaf Fireman
    • Cultural Norm: Appearance
16. ASPECTS OF DEAF EDUCATION / DEAF ART
    • Mainstreaming
    • Deaf Literature (Cheer Songs)
    • De’VIA: Deaf Art
    • ASL Poetry
    • Integration on the basis of race or communication
17. LAW ENFORCEMENT AND THE DEAF COMMUNITY
    • Issues in Law Enforcement
    • Breaking Communication Barriers
    • What can Hearing Officers do?
    • US Dept of Justice Guide of Officers working with D/HH

2. Laboratory/Studio Sessions