Inside Deaf Culture
Surrounded by Deaf Culture Books
Product Description
“
In this absorbing tale of the changing life of a community, the authors of Deaf in America reveal historical events and forces that have shaped the ways that Deaf people define themselves today. Surrounded by Deaf Culture relates Deaf people’s search for a voice of their own, and their proud self-discovery and self-description as a flourishing culture.
Padden and Humphries show how the nineteenth-century schools for the deaf, with their denigration of sign language and their insistence on oralist teaching, shaped the lives of Deaf people for generations to come. They describe how Deaf culture and art thrived in mid-twentieth century Deaf clubs and Deaf theatre, and profile controversial contemporary technologies.
Most triumphant is the tale of the survival of the rich and complex language American Sign Language, long misunderstood but finally recently recognized by a hearing world that may possibly not conceive of language in a form other than speech. In a tender conclusion, the authors describe their own very different pathways into the Deaf community, and reveal the confidence and anxiety of the people of this tenuous community as it faces the future.
Surrounded by Deaf Culture celebrates the experience of a minority culture–its common past, bestow debates, and promise for the future. From these pages emerge clear and bold voices, speaking out from surrounded by this once silenced community.
”
Buy Cheap Surrounded by Deaf Culture Online
Related posts:
The only problem I had with this book is the poor tracking/shipping. The tracking told me that the item shipped out from OH on the 17th and that was it. I had to go to USPS to get more info, which only told me that from the 17th-25th the product had only went to another section of OH. It did get to me in time and the book is in fantastic shape up. The tracking and slightly more quick shipping would have been appreciated.
Rating: 4 / 5
Book came in shape up stated. Arrived within only a few days with ground shipping and packaged well.
Rating: 5 / 5
…not what I expected. The first half is pretty much a huge history lesson on the delevopment of Deaf schools & ASL, and although it was fascinating at parts it seemed to drag for awhile. Then it gets more into current issues in Deaf culture but still dabbles in the history at times.
I would not say that the book is “terrible” at all. It’s just I was expecting more scenerios as regards: behaviors, Deaf opinions on hearing, changes in technology/communication, etc. I too judge it is a necessary read for those hearing who want to learn ASL. It helps you appreciate the culture much more and helps you to not look at Deaf people as handicapped.
Rating: 4 / 5
Culture is a term that frequently brings to mind images of exotic cuisine, weird rituals, and unfamiliar forms of dress. In Surrounded by Deaf Culture, communication scholars Tom Humphries and Carol Padden outline a culture very different from those that appear in pages of National Geographic: that of the Deaf communities of the United States. Starting with histories of some of the first schools for the deaf, the authors show how sign language has brought together persons with a wide range of hearing abilities nearly a common form of speech–but not without challenges.
The authors describe some of the most notable instantiations of Deaf culture: early sign language films, the Deaf clubs set up in industrial centers during World War II, Deaf acting and poetry, as well as schools for the Deaf. Even as these cultural centers and forms helped to solidify the Deaf community nearly the use of sign language, controversy surrounds the history of the linguistic form. Deaf and hearing alike have doubted, lauded, and studied the status of ASL as a language.
The history of Deaf culture that Humphries and Padden tell is rich, varied, and sometimes emotional, drawing upon both the history of Deafness in America, as well as their private histories of growing up without hearing. The book’s clear style will be accessible to a wide range of readers interested in learning a new way to reckon about a form of life often labeled disabled. Deaf culture not only exists, it has a fascinating history.
Rating: 4 / 5
Padden & Humphries, spouse & wife, both wrote a wonderful book that is much needed in terms of how Deaf Culture was or what it looked like in the days of the past. To me, “Surrounded by Deaf Culture” is a follow-up from their previous book, “Deaf in America: Voices from a Culture”. The difference is the latter is introductory by explaining different aspects of what Deaf culture is. The former contains selected pieces of Deaf history or rather, incidents and circumstances where the authors clarify or pinpoint where some aspects of the Deaf culture originated.
For me, the most fascinating parts of this book were the incidents occurring surrounded by the Deaf residential schools. For most of us who are familiar with Deaf history, we know that the American School for the Deaf (Hartford, Connecticut) was the first permanent Deaf school and was customary by Thomas H. Gallaudet, Laurent Clerc and Dr. Mason Cogswell. We also know that the Kentucky School for the Deaf was the first state-supported Deaf school. But, for many of us, we don’t know what happened in the schools, whether they be excellent or terrible.
Padden & Humphries result in light to some of the Deaf schools’ darkest secrets. In addition, they also shed light to segregation between the Black and White Deaf residential schools. They don’t stop there. They continue with voice, oralism, employment, theatre, American Sign Language (ASL) and of course, culture.
*Surrounded by Deaf Culture* is an brilliant book that is highly not compulsory for those in the Deaf-correlated fields. This book is also simple reading for those who are not knowledgeable of the Deaf community.
Rating: 5 / 5