Leading researchers in 30 nations describe the shared developmental, social, and educational issues facing deaf people filtered through the prism of unique national, regional, ethnic, and racial realities.

The articles in Deaf around the World offer an introduction to deaf studies and the study of signed languages.

Selected papers from the conference held in Washington DC, July 9-14, 1989.

This book presents the first ever comprehensive overview of national laws recognising sign languages, the impacts they have and the advocacy campaigns which led to their creation. It comprises 18 studies from communities across Europe, the US, South America, Asia and New Zealand. They set sign language legislation within the national context of language policies in each country and show patterns of intersection between language ideologies, public policy and deaf communities’ discourses. The chapters are grounded in a collaborative writing approach between deaf and hearing scholars and activists involved in legislative campaigns. Each one describes a deaf community’s expectations and hopes for legal recognition and the type of sign language legislation achieved. The chapters also discuss the strategies used in achieving the passage of the legislation, as well as an account of barriers confronted and surmounted (or not) in the legislative process. The book will be of interest to language activists in the fields of sign language and other minority languages, policymakers and researchers in deaf studies, sign linguistics, sociolinguistics, human rights law and applied linguistics.

This volume profiles the fascinating and, at times, controversial concept of DEAF-SAME and its influence on deaf spaces locally and globally. The editors and contributors focus on national and international encounters (e.g., conferences, sporting events, arts festivals, camps) and the role of political/economic power structures on deaf lives and the creation of deaf worlds. They also consider important questions about how deaf people negotiate DEAF-SAME and deaf difference, such as differences in mobility, access to social and economic capital, ideologies, and epistemologies. The editors have organized the book into five sections--Gatherings, Language, Projects, Networks, and Visions. Taken all together, the 23 chapters in this book provide an understanding of how sameness and difference are powerful yet contested categories in deaf worlds.

Experience life as it is in the U.S. for those who cannot hear.

A contemporary and vibrant Deaf culture is found within Deaf communities, including Deaf Persons of Color and those who are DeafDisabled and DeafBlind. Taking a more people-centered view, the second edition of Deaf Culture: Exploring Deaf Communities in the United States critically examines how Deaf culture fits into education, psychology, cultural studies, technology, and the arts. With the acknowledgment of signed languages all over the world as bona fide languages, the perception of Deaf people has evolved into the recognition and acceptance of a vibrant Deaf culture centered around the use of signed languages and the communities of Deaf peoples. Written by Deaf and hearing authors with extensive teaching experience and immersion in Deaf cultures and signed languages, Deaf Culture fills a niche as an introductory textbook that is more inclusive, accessible, and straightforward for those beginning their studies of the Deaf-World. New to the Second Edition: *A new co-author, Topher González Ávila, MA *Two new chapters! Chapter 7 “Deaf Communities Within the Deaf Community” highlights the complex variations within this community Chapter 10 “Deaf People and the Legal System: Education, Employment, and Criminal Justice” underscores linguistic and access rights *The remaining chapters have been significantly updated to reflect current trends and new information, such as: Advances in technology created by Deaf people that influence and enhance their lives within various national and international societies Greater emphasis on different perspectives within Deaf culture Information about legal issues and recent political action by Deaf people New information on how Deaf people are making breakthroughs in the entertainment industry Addition of new vignettes, examples, pictures, and perspectives to enhance content interest for readers and facilitate instructor teaching Introduction of theories explained in a practical and reader-friendly manner to ensure understanding An updated introduction to potential opportunities for professional and informal involvement in ASL/Deaf culture with children, youth, and adults Key Features: *Strong focus on including different communities within Deaf cultures *Thought-provoking questions, illustrative vignettes, and examples *Theories introduced and explained in a practical and reader-friendly manner

How do deaf people in different societies perceive and conceive the world around them? Drawing on three years of anthropological fieldwork in Nepali deaf communities, Being and Hearing shows how questions of cultural difference are profoundly shaped by local habits of perception. Beginning with the premise that philosophy and cultural intuition are separated only by genre and pedigree, Peter Graif argues that Nepali deaf communities--in their social sensibilities, political projects, and aesthetics of expression--present innovative answers to the very old question of what it means to be different. From pranks and protests, to diverse acts of love and resistance, to renewed distinctions between material and immaterial, deaf communities in Nepal have crafted ways to foreground the habits of perception that shape both their own experiences and how they are experienced by the hearing people around them. By exploring these often overlooked strategies, Being and Hearing makes a unique contribution to ethnography and comparative philosophy.

Introduction to American Deaf Culture provides a fresh perspective on what it means to be Deaf in contemporary hearing society. The book offers an overview of Deaf art, literature, history, and humor, and touches on political, social and cultural themes.