UGED2923 Exploring Sign Languages & Deaf Communities
The course aims to introduce to students conceptions and misconceptions about sign language and deaf community. Crucially it explores how deaf and hearing people perceive sign language and deafness and how such perceptions from the hearing and deaf communities might lead to ideological conflicts in the preservation of socio-cultural values of the deaf community and its language, in the methodology and technology of speech and language rehabilitation, and in the mode of deaf education. The course will address these conflicting ideologies from the perspectives of linguistics, sociology, cultural studies, psychology, medicine and education.
Learning Outcome of the course are:
- Understand the general characteristics of sign languages and cultures of a Deaf community;
- Analyze the misconceptions about the status and roles of sign language and spoken language in the society;
- Distinguish different types of deafness and analyze how they impact a Deaf person’s communication, education and psychology;
- Evaluate the conflicting ideologies stemming from the hearing and deaf communities concerning language choice, language rehabilitation for the Deaf, and deaf education.
- Arrive at an independent judgment of these conflicting issues and voice opinions with a reasonable degree of confidence.