Preview

Yesterday and Today: Shaping The Hard of Hearing

Best Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1511 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Yesterday and Today: Shaping The Hard of Hearing
Yesterday and Today: Shaping The Hard of Hearing
Ahmed Alamri
California State University, Fresno
Abstract
This research paper sought out to understand the roots of history and how our past has shaped our today referring to the hard of hearing community. Exploring the historical period of the 19th century where stakes were high regarding the hard of hearing community, all the way into present time where these individuals are still facing struggles and adaptations are just as evident but presented in a different light.
Yesterday and Today: Shaping the Hard of Hearing
“Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall.(“Brainy Quote)” -Confucious. The unique heritage of hard of hearing culture is very affluent and astonishing. Understanding the desires of others wanting to learn about the history behind the hearing impaired will come across critical events like the “Deaf President Now” movement that essentially granted Gallaudet University its first ever deaf president, learn about the expansion of personal hearing assistive technology past and present, read about the vicious segregation in schools for the deaf, and learn about the thousands of historical figures that were hard of hearing.

History will always tell a tale and never ceases to prove to us that turbulent events, such as DPN, only occur behind the grounds of good reason. Many would argue that the American Revolution and our very own nation's Civil Rights Movement, just so happen to be the result of many years of upstanding frustration and oppression on the part of people who were misunderstood, mistreated, underestimated, and undeniably ignored.(“Deaf Heritage”). Yet again, history always repeats itself, it is evident that the oppressed reach a point where they have had enough and realize that their conditions will only change if they finally take matters into their own hands and protest. Although the United States believed enough of the hard of

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Deaf President Now Essay

    • 627 Words
    • 3 Pages

    The Deaf President Now movement in 1988 has been characterized as one of the most significant moments in the history of Deaf people. From March 7-13, 1988, Gallaudet University in Washington, D.C. was the site of a historic protest against the appointment of yet another hearing university president. It was early in 1983 when the 4th university president, Dr. Edward C. Merrill, Jr, was stepping down that he himself promoted the idea of a deaf president. The idea didn’t truly catch on until a few years later when a group of faculty and students formed the President 's Council on Deafness (PCD), which was an advocacy group who felt that many of the deaf students needs were unable to be met with so many of the university’s administration being hearing. This group, along with many others, both within the university and without, worked tirelessly to make their wishes known to the Board of Trustees who were in charge of the selection process in 1987-1988. Although two of the three finalists for the position were deaf, ultimately the Board decided to go with the one finalist that was hearing, Dr. Elisabeth Zinser.…

    • 627 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Lomas, G. I. (2010). Dealing with Change. Journal of the American Deafness & Rehabilitation Association (JADARA), 44(1), 198-200.…

    • 1946 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    An artefact that plays a major part in my popular culture is the “Cochlear Implant”. A Cochlear implant is an electronic device that has been surgically implanted to help a person who is profoundly deaf, or severely hard of hearing to receive sound. These devices are made to replace the sensory hair cells in the cochlear of which have been damaged, the Cochlear Implant enables sufficient amount of hearing, allowing a better understanding of speech. However the quality of the sound is different from natural hearing, as less sound information is being received and processed by the brain. I have a Cochlear Implant (or CI for short) myself, making it a major part of my popular culture experience. The Cochlear implant is recognised as a “cure” for deafness; however there is commotion from the “Deaf” culture that the CI is a threat to their culture and their form of communication, sign language. I disagree and believe that the CI is an optional cure for deafness not a threat to their culture. The CI reflects back onto three main theories; Progress and Globalization, Roots and routes of identity and Deaf culture. These are three theories will be used to discuss why the CI is a part of my popular culture following by a conclusion that the CI is a optional cure for deafness that will not intrude with the “Deaf culture”.…

    • 1284 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In this book, Deaf in America, by Carol Padden and Tom Humphries, the two authors wrote stories, jokes, performances, and experiences of Deaf people. They also wrote Deaf culture and Deaf people’s lives from various angles. This book is great navigator of Deaf world for hearing people and even Deaf people as me. There are several factors attracting reader. To begin with, I could learn about backgrounds of deaf people and hearing people. Authors wrote about a Deaf boy who was born into a deaf family. Until he discovered that a girl playmate in neighborhood was “hearing”, he didn’t notice about “Others”. Authors explained, “She was HEARING and because of this did not know how to SIGN; instead she and her mother TALK” (Chapter 1). This story strongly impressed me. I was born into a Deaf family too, but I grew up with hearing grandparents. In my childhood, I did intensive oral training with my grandparents. So, I can sign JSL and talk Japanese smoothly. Therefore I never felt emotion like this occasion, “Others” to hearing people. The next factor is difference of “Deaf” and “deaf”. For example, the capitalized “Deaf” people are not only “deaf” but also user of Sign Language. I haven’t known the meaning of “Deaf” and “deaf” exactly before, thanks to this book, now I can understand. When I analyzed myself, I identified as “Deaf” because I truly cherish Sign Language. In addition, Sign Language is explained as a primary mode of communication for Deaf people including me. It has full access to communication for us. Unfortunately, some hearing people misunderstand that Sign Language is a kind of gestural communication. Authors wrote about it, “ASL are often thought to be direct representations of spoken words” (Chapter 3). In my country, Japan, there are some misconceptions about JSL too. Sign Language has both iconic and abstract concept.…

    • 620 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Accomplishments: I. King Jordan has distinguished himself as a scholar, teacher, and leader in education. He has earned the attention and admiration of the nation as the first deaf president of an institution of higher education. As Gallaudet University's first deaf president in the institution’s 125-year history, he represents the actuality of his now famous statement, "Deaf people can do anything except hear."…

    • 574 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Gallaudet Research Paper

    • 644 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Many events took place in 1988 at Gallaudet University, in Washington, D.C. One event that continues to affect many people's lives was the election of Gallaudet’s first Deaf president, Irving King Jordan. However, it was not an easy journey for this milestone accomplishment to be achieved. In the days before King Jordan was elected, there were protests from students, faculty, alumni, and many other members of the Deaf community. They, the people of Gallaudet, had just found out that Elisabeth Zinser, a hearing woman, had just been elected as the seventh president of Gallaudet. Nobody could believe this. This led to several days of protests called, Deaf President Now.…

    • 644 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Things that hearing people want to do are foreign to people with hearing loss. People can change when losing their hearing. People with hearing loss would want to hear again. People whom have their loved ones suffered the loss of hearing, cannot stand to see their own family member or friend suffering. People whom lost their hearing suddenly, can fall in the depression. “On My Father’s Loss of Hearing”, by Joanne Diaz was written about her father who suffered the loss of hearing and the author uses three devices that are connotation, irony, hyperbole, and to help explore the difficulty of hearing loss.…

    • 457 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Cochlear Implant Culture

    • 1646 Words
    • 7 Pages

    For example, when the cochlear implant first appeared on the market, it was met with indifference from the Deaf community members rather than the enthusiasm that medical professions expected. This was because they did not feel they were lacking and did not see the need of a prosthesis to effectively communicate (Blume 61). However, as the cochlear implant became more prominent, was approved for children, and was increasing implanted in deaf children born to hearing parents, there was greater dissent. For example, when one hearing mother approached the Deaf community considering implanting her child, “certain members of the deaf community…their feelings were so angry and so hurtful…[the parents] were called child abusers…and butchers” (Christiansen and Leigh 365). Through the perspective of the cultural view, this reaction is understandable. Deaf individuals feel a great sense belonging and pride in their culture like other cultural minority groups. To them, getting the implant would be denying the unknowing child the opportunity to be part of the Deaf culture. Additionally, their anger and opposition to a device with a goal to rid of deafness is not surprising. Many of them saw the cochlear implant as a step towards the “death of deafness” and the abolishment of their community and way of life (Christiansen and Leigh 368). Therefore, many of those holding the cultural view showed…

    • 1646 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Deaf President Now

    • 1752 Words
    • 8 Pages

    Many believe that discrimination against deaf individuals is not present, but they are unaware of the social injustice that the deaf face. The deaf population is shunned from society, and have trouble communicating their needs with hearing people. This is apparent in the workplace. While most employees are judged based on their skillset, deaf employees are judged by their ability to communicate with their coworkers. This communication barrier causes employers to reject deaf people, creating financial issues within deaf families. While there have been previous organizations that attempted to assist deaf employees in the workplace, deaf individuals still did not receive assistance in social settings. Deaf President Now was an…

    • 1752 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Level 5 Sensory Loss

    • 1911 Words
    • 8 Pages

    Sense for deafblind people, “The elderly” http://www.sense.org.uk First published Mon 2nd July Updated 22nd march…

    • 1911 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Cochlear Implantation

    • 2354 Words
    • 10 Pages

    One the one hand, cochlear implants appear to be a threat to Deaf culture and potentially undermines the lives of Deaf persons, as the procedure is conducted with the intent to spare children from the despair of being deaf. This is an issue because Deaf persons cherish their deafness and actually prefer to be deaf. Moreover, labeling deafness as a disability, a word sometimes associated with a potent stigma, promotes the idea that those experiencing deafness do not have meaningful lives. On the other hand, society is engineered for the hearing population, as the majority of persons have an intact hearing mechanism. To be deaf in this society results in costly accommodations and numerous disadvantages. In addition, some argue that it is not appropriate for the Deaf community to expect hearing parents of deaf children to refrain from getting cochlear implants solely for the purpose of preserving Deaf culture. Ultimately, it is solely the decision of parents to decide if their deaf child should undergo cochlear implantation, and I feel that they are not obligated to ensure that Deaf culture lives…

    • 2354 Words
    • 10 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    poop

    • 676 Words
    • 3 Pages

    erhaps DPN's most profound impact was felt by hearing people. Deaf people have always known that they could do whatever hearing people could do, but, until DPN, most hearing people did not agree. DPN opened their minds to this reality. At the same time, the movement was a strong reminder to deaf and hard of hearing people that they did not have to accept limitations put on them by others. Indeed, DPN instilled a deep sense of pride and accomplishment in deaf and hard of hearing people of all ages and from all walks of life. Since 1988, more and more deaf students graduating from Gallaudet and other colleges are entering professions that were previously considered off-limits to deaf and hard of hearing people.…

    • 676 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Civil Disobedience

    • 1706 Words
    • 7 Pages

    Dr. Erica Chenoweth, the Associate Dean for Research at the Josef Korbel School of International Studies at the University of Denver, specializes in studies concerning international political violence and injustice. Her research into this topic has yielded data that sufficiently shows the positive effects of civil resistance compared to violent protests (Chenoweth, 2015). Figure 1 represents the comparison between violent demonstrations and civil demonstrations and the successes that each method achieved. It can be concluded from this analysis that the success of civil campaigns is greater than that of violent campaigns; from 1900 to 2006, nonviolent campaigns have been more than twice as successful as those utilizing violence. If civil disobedience is utilized in the St. Louis community more laws will be passed that will improve the lives of those who advocated for them. Secondly, the safety of its citizens should be one of any sensible government’s primary goals. With that being said, the level of safety that is afforded using peaceful methods of protest opposed to violent means is enough to make any government at least consider advocating for civil campaigns. While no government would encourage its people to challenge it, prominent organizations striving for change in the government would encourage this challenge in order to further its cause. Thus, the NAACP would…

    • 1706 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Black Deaf Community

    • 1051 Words
    • 5 Pages

    The Black Deaf Community seems silly to believe the existence of itself, but in reality based on surveys and observations, it seems rather smart. Going through the supplemental reading, I have noticed the Black Deaf community consists of strong and proud members of both, overcoming many issues thrown at them. This paper will discuss the issues and show how amazing the community really is.…

    • 1051 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Deaf Culture

    • 6285 Words
    • 26 Pages

    The purpose of this research paper is to answer the major question, what is Deaf culture? There are three sub-questions that will assist in answering the major question: (1) What constitutes Deaf culture? (2) How has American Sign Language impacted the Deaf community? (3) What are the major issues that are being addressed in Deaf culture today? With these questions answer, it will give a better understanding as to what Deaf culture is and that it is indeed a culture.…

    • 6285 Words
    • 26 Pages
    Powerful Essays