The Cultures and Subcultures of the Deaf and Deaf-Blind.
California University of Pennsylvania

CMD 350: Sign Language & Braille I

September 27, 2011

The Cultures and Subcultures of the Deaf and Deaf-Blind.
Deaf culture describes the social beliefs, behaviors, art, literary traditions, history, values and shared institutions of communities that are affected by deafness and which use sign languages as the main means of communication (http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deaf_culture). Much is the same when describing the social cultures of the deaf-blind communities. They come from different social, vocational and educational backgrounds. They have many jobs and roles: teachers, professors, counselors, homemakers, agency directors,
As is with many minority groups, deaf and deaf-blind people have a more closely knit bond and relationship within their culture and subculture. These bonds within their communities not only offer protection of one another, but also provide a feeling of strength from within the culture.
Deaf and deaf-blind people take great pride in their history, as well they should. In 1000 B.C., the Torah protected the deaf from being cursed by others, but denied them to fully participate in rituals of the Temple. From approximately, 345-550 A.D. early Christians viewed deafness as a sin. St. Augustine stated that deaf children were, a sign of God’s anger against the sins of the parents (http://www.pbs.org/wnet/soundandfury/culture/deafhistory.html). It wasn’t until the 1500’s that deaf education began to develop, and in 1620, Juan Pablo Bonet wrote the first book of alphabetic signs (http://www.pbs.org/wnet/soundandfury/culture/deafhistory.html). Skipping ahead to 1817, the first American school for the deaf was founded. Later, in the 1850’s, John Flournoy, proposed to Congress that land be set aside in the western territories for the creation of a deaf state, where deaf people could better enjoy their own community and flourish unrestrained by prejudice and the often restrictive good intentions of hearing society (http://www.pbs.org/wnet/soundandfury/culture/deafhistory.html). As time went on, many other advancements, in areas like employment, sports, and technology