Synopses & Reviews
This edited volume provides a comprehensive analysis of deaf people as a culturally and linguistically distinct minority group within American society. Many educators, linguists, and researchers now favor this position, as opposed to that which states that a deaf person simply has an audiological disability. Contributors to this book include members of the deaf community, as well as prominent deaf and hearing educators and researchers. The text contains three sections, covering research on bilingualism and biculturalism, the impact of cultural and language diversity on the deaf experience, and first-hand accounts from deaf community members that highlight the emotional impact of living in the deaf and hearing worlds.
Review
"Parasnis' 'Cultural and Language Diversity and the Deaf Experience' will be a valuable addition to the library of professionals who provide services to Deaf people. It will also be of considerable interest to researchers, instructors, and professionals in minority education and bilingualism. All will be informed by the varied perspectives of the impact of language and culture on the experience of membership in a minority group." Contemporary Psychology"Nonspecialists will find that this book provides an intriguing and provocative introduction to Deaf culture, and specialists in deafness-related professions will appreciate this volume for its broad coverage of socioculture issues that impact the lives of Deaf children and adults." Janet R. Jamieson, Contemporary Psychology"The book, Culture, Language Diversity and the Deaf Experience, is an elegant and comprehensive exposition of one side of this long-standing debate in deaf education -- the side which portrays deaf people as comprising a bilingual and bicultural minority group whose native language is a signed rather than a spoken language (ASL/LSQ). In three well-organized sections, the editor...assembles readable articles...drawing from a wide variety of experts with both academic and personal experience in the field of deafness. The articles are the ultimate product of colloquia on the same topic that were held earlier at the National Technical Institute of the Deaf." McGill Journal of Education"...the section with personal essays makes the book especially attractive for a wider audience. This innovative and interdisciplinary volume is highly recommended for all interested in linguistic and cultural diversity: linguists, psychologists, anthropologists, sociologists, sign language interpreters, researchers and educators involved in the education of the Deaf, and last, but not least, all those who deal with the experience of living in the Deaf and Hearing worlds on a daily basis." SocioLinguistics
Synopsis
This edited book presents an detailed analysis of the experience of deaf people as a bilingual-bicultural minority group in America. An overview of mainstream research on bilingualism and biculturalism is followed by specific research and conceptual analyses which examine the impact of cultural and language diversity on the experiences of deaf people. The book ends with poignant personal reflections from deaf community members. The contributors include prominent deaf and hearing experts in bilingualism, ASL and Deaf culture, and deaf education.
Synopsis
This edited book presents an detailed analysis of the experience of deaf people as a bilingual-bicultural minority group in America.
Table of Contents
Part I. Cultural and Language Diversity: An Overview: 1. On interpreting the deaf experience within the context of cultural and language diverstiy Ila Parasnis; 2. Living with two languages and two cultures Francois Grosjean; 3. Perspectives from the history and the politics of bilingualism and bilingual education in the United States Kenji Hakuta and Elizabeth Feldman Mostafapour; 4. Cognitive and language development of bilingual children Josiane F. Hamers; Part II. Cultural and Language Diversity: Impact on the Deaf Experience: 5. From the cultural to the bicultural: the modern deaf community Carol A. Padden; 6. Early bilingual lives of deaf children Carol A. Padden; 7. Communication experiences of deaf people: an ethnographic account Susan Foster; 8. Marginality, biculturalism and social identity of deaf people R. Greg Emerton; 9. Attitudes of the deaf community toward political activism Gerry C. Bateman; 10. Cultural and language diversity in the curriculum: toward reflective practice Bonnie Meath-Lang; 11. Minority empowerment and the education of deaf people Joan B. Stone; 12. Social assimilation of deaf High School students: the role of school environment Thomas K. Holcomb; Part III. Cultural and Language Diversity: Reflections on the Deaf Experience: 13. Growing up deaf in deaf families: two different experiences Susan C. Searls and David Johnston; 14. Another new birth: reflections of a deaf native singer Patrick Graybill; 15. Raising deaf children in a hearing society: struggles and challenges for deaf signers Gary E. Mowl; 16. In search of self: experiences of a post-lingually deaf African-American Dianne K. Brooks; 17. Living in a bilingual-bicultural family Lynn Finton; 18. On being both hearing and deaf: my bilingual-bicultural Patricia Mudgett-DeCaro.