April 3, 2018 - 16:55
I very much enjoyed watching Deaf Jam and learning about Deaf culture, particularly because it was a bit different from our academic approach. Often we've listened to the experiences of Critical Disability Theory through the lens of academics and scholars, older activists, lawyers, etc. It was refreshing, relatable, and made me feel really connected to the teenagers in the documentary.
At the Urban Word NYC Poetry Slam (Around 30:00) - one of the Lexington students who is deaf said that she wished she could hear the performer's emotions; however, I found it really wonderful to be able to see the Lexington students' emotions. The facial expressiveness used in ASL/deaf culture is something that didn't occur to me before yesterday's talk with Teresa Blankmeyer Burke yesterday at VCAM. Dr. Burke is Associate Professor of Philosophy at Gallaudet University and the first deaf person in the world to earn a Ph.D. in Philosophy! It was really a pleasure to hear her speak about deaf culture, particularly in academia.
I appreciated that she shared her own personal experiences with deafness, her family and background, political views, and outward prejudices that she's faced as a deaf, brown woman in academia. The intersectionality of her work is incredibly interesting and engaging. She spoke of one instance in which she was mistaken for a caterer at her first APA (American Philosophy Association) Conference. I also learned a lot of new things about Deaf culture that I didn't learn from the film or readings! For example, deaf (as a medical term for the lack of hearing), versus Deaf (referring to a culture of Deaf folks, phrases, ways-of-being).