Revised 01/2023

ASL 125 - History & Culture of the Deaf Community I (3 CR.)

Course Description

Examines the history of the Deaf Community. Presents an overview of various aspects of Deaf culture, including educational and legal issues in American history. Lecture 3 hours. Total 3 hours per week.

General Course Purpose

This course serves as an overview of the historical and cultural aspects of the Deaf community. This course is open to all students interested in learning about the Deaf community and satisfies the college Humanities requirement. Students enrolled in the A.A.S of ASL-English Interpretation or the A.S. of Social Sciences with a Specialization in Deaf Studies is required to take this course. 

Course Prerequisites/Corequisites

Course Prerequisites/Corequisites Students should have completed ENG 111 or be concurrently enrolled. Students will be expected to utilize effective writing and grammar skills.

Course Objectives

Upon completing the course, the student will be able to:

  • Critical Thinking
    • Describe the major cultural forces behind the foundation and continuation of the Deaf Community in America
    • Provide real-life examples from American Deaf culture, focusing on how this viewpoint contrasts with that of the general American population
    • Parallel the experience of Deaf Americans, including Black Deaf, Deaf Blind, and indigenous Deaf, with that of other cultural and linguistic minorities, including various immigrant groups through the lens of intersectionality
    • Analyze examples of literature and art within the U.S. Deaf Community
    • Compare the differences between naturally occurring languages such as American Sign Language (ASL) and English versus codes such as manually coded forms of English (MCEs) and Cued Speech
  • Communication
    • Describe the major events of the last two centuries that have impacted members of the American Deaf Community, including a description of the general linguistic and social movements.
    • Provide a historical timeline of the major events and individuals who have shaped contemporary Deaf culture in the context of US History.
    • Discuss Deaf Gain: the Deaf community?s contributions to human diversity

Major Topics to Be Included

  • Formation of Deaf Community
  • Societal influence
  • Communications: Natural Language vs. Contrived Code
  • Deaf Literature and Art
  • Deaf Gain