Read Online The People of the Eye: Deaf Ethnicity and Ancestry by Harlan Lane, Richard C. Pillard, Ulf Hedberg - Free Book Online Page B
Tags: Psychology, Clinical Psychology
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before the Spanish conquest.
On the contemporary scene, the ethnic group may not currently occupy its claimed homeland; it is the feeling of the connection that is important.93 Ethnic groups in the United States-Hispanic Americans, for example-are much larger than the ethnic enclaves in which some members live. Members are dispersed throughout the land, and some have returned to the old country or immigrated to other lands. "The ethnic community does not exist in a fixed location but rather as a form of consciousness."94
As do many ethnic groups, members of the Deaf-World have an enduring vision of "a land of our own," a vision expressed in folk tales, utopian writings, newsprint, theater, and political discussions.95 This yearning probably arises because the territory of Deaf-Americans, like that of Asian, African, Hispanic, and Native Americans, has no single homeland. Ethnic heritage sites thus take on great significance as a culturally unifying force. Where are the heritage sites of the People of the Eye? The first are the residential schools. Graduates of the residential schools for the Deaf have a strong sense of place there and Deaf travel is often planned around visits to those schools. It would be a mistake to equate Deaf people's ties to their residential schools, where most acquired language and a positive identity, to hearing people's ties to their schools. The Deaf ties are so strong that many Deaf people choose to live in proximity to their schools after graduation. The search for a place away from the residential school after graduation led to the establishment of Deaf clubs across America, tiny reservations of Deaf culture, as it were, where Deaf people govern, socialize, and communicate fluently in ASL after the workday ends. (As we said earlier, both institutions have been dwindling in the United States).
Historic sites and monuments are evocative of ethnic group memories and ethnic group members visit them. For the Deaf, these include the mother school founded by Gallaudet and ClercD in Hartford; their graves in Hartford and the graveyard on Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts, where there were many Deaf people in the 1800s (more on that later); and the campus of Gallaudet University, with its statue of Thomas H. Gallaudet and Alice CogswellD. Laurent ClercD s birthplace, in the town of La Balme-les-Grottes in France, is a heritage site for the American Deaf, who travel to the village on personal initiative and with arranged tours. The National Association of the Deaf, in association with four other American Deaf organizations, made a formal pilgrimage to La Balme and presented the village with a plaque of recognition and a painting of ClercD.
Many ethnic groups believe in a transnational communality, another expression of ethnic solidarity. This belief adds to the imagined importance of the group and enriches its sense of tradition. Consider the example of the Jews. Although they share a religion, Jews from different parts of the world do not have a single language or homeland. Indeed, Diaspora Jews may speak mutually unintelligible languages. Even vernaculars such as Yiddish often do not allow communication among Jews of different lands as such languages borrow heavily from the language of the country where the speakers reside. Fishman observed that language and territory are detached from Jewish ethnicity, since the symbolic homeland of the Jews is Israel, but Jewish Diasporas do not originate there.96 Indeed, diaspora communities that have lost their homelands and independence can maintain themselves for centuries.97
As there are distinct Jewish ethnic minorities in numerous lands, so are there numerous Deaf-Worlds; communities using sign languages are no doubt to be found in every country in the world.98 Although they all have visual languages, their different sign languages are often not mutually intelligible, as we said earlier. Nevertheless, Deaf people, like the Jews, believe deeply in a
On the contemporary scene, the ethnic group may not currently occupy its claimed homeland; it is the feeling of the connection that is important.93 Ethnic groups in the United States-Hispanic Americans, for example-are much larger than the ethnic enclaves in which some members live. Members are dispersed throughout the land, and some have returned to the old country or immigrated to other lands. "The ethnic community does not exist in a fixed location but rather as a form of consciousness."94
As do many ethnic groups, members of the Deaf-World have an enduring vision of "a land of our own," a vision expressed in folk tales, utopian writings, newsprint, theater, and political discussions.95 This yearning probably arises because the territory of Deaf-Americans, like that of Asian, African, Hispanic, and Native Americans, has no single homeland. Ethnic heritage sites thus take on great significance as a culturally unifying force. Where are the heritage sites of the People of the Eye? The first are the residential schools. Graduates of the residential schools for the Deaf have a strong sense of place there and Deaf travel is often planned around visits to those schools. It would be a mistake to equate Deaf people's ties to their residential schools, where most acquired language and a positive identity, to hearing people's ties to their schools. The Deaf ties are so strong that many Deaf people choose to live in proximity to their schools after graduation. The search for a place away from the residential school after graduation led to the establishment of Deaf clubs across America, tiny reservations of Deaf culture, as it were, where Deaf people govern, socialize, and communicate fluently in ASL after the workday ends. (As we said earlier, both institutions have been dwindling in the United States).
Historic sites and monuments are evocative of ethnic group memories and ethnic group members visit them. For the Deaf, these include the mother school founded by Gallaudet and ClercD in Hartford; their graves in Hartford and the graveyard on Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts, where there were many Deaf people in the 1800s (more on that later); and the campus of Gallaudet University, with its statue of Thomas H. Gallaudet and Alice CogswellD. Laurent ClercD s birthplace, in the town of La Balme-les-Grottes in France, is a heritage site for the American Deaf, who travel to the village on personal initiative and with arranged tours. The National Association of the Deaf, in association with four other American Deaf organizations, made a formal pilgrimage to La Balme and presented the village with a plaque of recognition and a painting of ClercD.
Many ethnic groups believe in a transnational communality, another expression of ethnic solidarity. This belief adds to the imagined importance of the group and enriches its sense of tradition. Consider the example of the Jews. Although they share a religion, Jews from different parts of the world do not have a single language or homeland. Indeed, Diaspora Jews may speak mutually unintelligible languages. Even vernaculars such as Yiddish often do not allow communication among Jews of different lands as such languages borrow heavily from the language of the country where the speakers reside. Fishman observed that language and territory are detached from Jewish ethnicity, since the symbolic homeland of the Jews is Israel, but Jewish Diasporas do not originate there.96 Indeed, diaspora communities that have lost their homelands and independence can maintain themselves for centuries.97
As there are distinct Jewish ethnic minorities in numerous lands, so are there numerous Deaf-Worlds; communities using sign languages are no doubt to be found in every country in the world.98 Although they all have visual languages, their different sign languages are often not mutually intelligible, as we said earlier. Nevertheless, Deaf people, like the Jews, believe deeply in a
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