The collection of readings in Learning American Sign Language to Experience the Essence of Deaf Culture broadens students' knowledge of the Deaf community and Deaf culture. The material also gives important and meaningful context to American Sign Language. The readings in the first section introduce students to history through Deaf eyes, medical and cultural views of Deafness, the Deaf community, the grammar of American Sign Language, American Sign Language numbering systems, the American Sign Language continuum, communication technologies and name signs used in American Sign Language. Section two focuses on notable Deaf men and women, the ear and Deafness and Deafhood. The readings in the third section examine artistic areas of Deafness including the Deaf Poet Society and Deaf View of Image in Art. Differing constructions of Deafness and theories of dysconscious audism are discussed. The text also looks at Deaf culture through two American Sign Language Stories: Bird of a Different Feather and For a Decent Living. Extensively class-tested, Learning American Sign Language to Experience the Essence of Deaf Culture develops readers' awareness of and sensitivity to the Deaf community in America. The book is an excellent addition to courses in American Sign Language, Deaf history and culture, and communication sciences and disorders.

This text broadens students' knowledge of the Deaf community and Deaf culture. It also gives important and meaningful context to American Sign Language.

The collection of readings in Learning American Sign Language to Experience the Essence of Deaf Culture broadens students' knowledge of the Deaf community and Deaf culture. The material also gives important and meaningful context to American Sign Language. The readings in the first section introduce students to history through Deaf eyes, medical and cultural views of Deafness, the Deaf community, the grammar of American Sign Language, American Sign Language numbering systems, the American Sign Language continuum, communication technologies and name signs used in American Sign Language. Section two focuses on notable Deaf men and women, the ear and Deafness and Deafhood. The readings in the third section examine artistic areas of Deafness including the Deaf Poet Society and Deaf View of Image in Art. Differing constructions of Deafness and theories of dysconscious audism are discussed. The text also looks at Deaf culture through two American Sign Language Stories: Bird of a Different Feather and For a Decent Living. Extensively class-tested, Learning American Sign Language to Experience the Essence of Deaf Culture develops readers' awareness of and sensitivity to the Deaf community in America. The book is an excellent addition to courses in American Sign Language, Deaf history and culture, and communication sciences and disorders.

This book presents a ‘Traveller’s Guide’ to Deaf Culture, starting from the premise that Deaf cultures have an important contribution to make to other academic disciplines, and human lives in general. Within and outside Deaf communities, there is a need for an account of the new concept of Deaf culture, which enables readers to assess its place alongside work on other minority cultures and multilingual discourses. The book aims to assess the concepts of culture, on their own terms and in their many guises and to apply these to Deaf communities. The author illustrates the pitfalls which have been created for those communities by the medical concept of ‘deafness’ and contrasts this with his new concept of “Deafhood”, a process by which every Deaf child, family and adult implicitly explains their existence in the world to themselves and each other.

Grayson makes sign language accessible, easy, and fun with this comprehensive primer to the techniques, words, and phrases of signing. 800 illustrative photos.

As more and more secondary schools and colleges accept American Sign Language (ASL) as a legitimate choice for second language study, Learning to See has become even more vital in guiding instructors on the best ways to teach ASL as a second language. And now this groundbreaking book has been updated and revised to reflect the significant gains in recognition that deaf people and their native language, ASL, have achieved in recent years. Learning to See lays solid groundwork for teaching and studying ASL by outlining the structure of this unique visual language. Myths and misconceptions about ASL are laid to rest at the same time that the fascinating, multifaceted elements of Deaf culture are described. Students will be able to study ASL and gain a thorough understanding of the cultural background, which will help them to grasp the language more easily. An explanation of the linguistic basis of ASL follows, leading into the specific, and above all, useful information on teaching techniques. This practical manual systematically presents the steps necessary to design a curriculum for teaching ASL, including the special features necessary for training interpreters. The new Learning to See again takes its place at the forefront of texts on teaching ASL as a second language, and it will prove to be indispensable to educators and administrators in this special discipline.

This unique collection of essays, accompanied by videos, at last brings a dazzling view of the literary, social, and performative aspects of American Sign Language to a wide audience. The book presents the work of a renowned and diverse group of deaf, hard-of-hearing, and hearing scholars who examine original ASL poetry, narrative, and drama. The videos showcases the poems and narratives under discussion in their original form, providing access to them for hearing non-signers for the first time. Together, the book and videos provide new insight into the history, culture, and creative achievements of the deaf community while expanding the scope of the visual and performing arts, literary criticism, and comparative literature. The videos may be viewed online at ucpress.edu/go/signingthebodypoetic.

Alex Gino, the Lambda Literary Award-winning author of Melissa, is back with another sensitive tale based on increasingly relevant social justice issues. Jilly thinks she's figured out how life works. But when her sister, Emma, is born deaf, she realizes how much she still has to learn. The world is going to treat Jilly, who is white and hearing, differently from Emma, just as it will treat them both differently from their Black cousins. A big fantasy reader, Jilly makes a connection online with another fantasy fan, Derek, who is a Deaf, Black ASL user. She goes to Derek for help with Emma but doesn't always know the best way or time to ask for it. As she and Derek meet in person, have some really fun conversations, and become friends, Jilly makes some mistakes . . . but comes to understand that it's up to her, not Derek to figure out how to do better next time--especially when she wants to be there for Derek the most. Within a world where kids like Derek and Emma aren't assured the same freedom or safety as kids like Jilly, Jilly is starting to learn all the things she doesn't know--and by doing that, she's also working to discover how to support her family and her friends. With You Don’t Know Everything, Jilly P!, award-winning author Alex Gino uses their trademark humor, heart, and humanity to show readers how being open to difference can make you a better person, and how being open to change can make you change in the best possible ways.

"You are about to enter the realm of Deaf culture, a world that may be completely new to you. Intriguingly, insiders and outsiders to this world may regard it in two completely different fashions. Let us examine this contradiction with the proverbial glass of water that can be viewed as either half-full or half-empty"--