BO O K R E V I E W

Raychelle Harris
Introduction to American Deaf Culture, by Thomas K. Holcomb (New York: Oxford University Press, 2013, 386 pp., paperback, $49.99, ISBN-13: 9780199777549) I n f i f te e n c hap te r s comprising 386 pages, the author, Thomas K. Holcomb, presents a comprehensive exploration of American Deaf culture. The introductory chapter provides an overview of the book, includes a summary of the authors credentials, and explains how he strives to portray a balanced perspective of the diverse constituencies of the Deaf community. Chapter 2 addresses the crux of this book: the definition of culture and how it applies to Deaf people and their community. The author emphasizes the relationship between culture and language, and what he has to say could not be more true for Deaf people and their signed languages. Holcomb delves further into his topic by comparing and contrasting American culture, more specifically, middle-class, white, hearing Americans, with Deaf American culture. This juxtaposition of cultures is beneficial in particular for people familiar with one or the other, as Holcomb shares specific characteristics of American culture, such as individualism and independence, which are in stark contrast to Deaf American culture, with its emphasis on collectivism and interdependence. The third chapter explores demographic data, deaf peoples backgrounds and experiences, membership in the community, and labels used to describe Deaf and hearing people, including the disability label, which is often erroneously attributed to Deaf people and their culture; it closes with a proposal to describe Deaf people and Deaf culture as a linguistic minority. Chapter 4 focuses on the journey of cultural awareness, which comprises several stages on the way to achieving a positive sense of self and Deaf identity. Chapters 5 and 6 explore early definitions of Deaf culture and current attempts to reframe it as the Deaf experience based on values stemming from a visual orientation.
406 Sign Language Studies Vol. 14 No. 3 Spring 2014

SLS 14(3) BM Pgs 402-414.indd 406

4/16/2014 8:12:08 AM

Book Review/Introduction to American Deaf Culture|407

Chapter 7 focuses on American Sign Language (ASL), clarifying misconceptions and presenting linguistic information about focal ASL vocabulary, which is strongly associated with cultural values. For instance, ASL has only one sign for music, song, sing, and concertyet more than a dozen signs for different types of deaf and hearing people. Bilingualism and the history of ASL are briefly touched upon, including prescriptive and descriptive perspectives of the language. Literature and the arts, pivotal areas of cultural awareness, as well as appreciation of and expression by Deaf people are covered in chapters 8 and 9. Literature of the Deaf community comes in many forms, including written English literature and signed ASL literature. Holcomb mentions periodicals, books, autobiographies, and specialinterest books that discuss specific themes and/or experiences such as being black and Deaf, Deaf gay and lesbian, Deaf Native American, and more. Deaf art, called DeVIA (Deaf View/Image Art), tends to fall into two categories: resistance art and affirmation art, The book displays more than twenty such images. In addition, the books valuable companion website, www.americandeafculture.com, has links to more than ten videos that the author himself signs, expanding on the information discussed in the book. For example, Holcomb demonstrates signs, linguistic information, and poetry that he himself has produced and also shares (with their permission) classic and contemporary literature by other Deaf artists and performers. Representing a departure from analyzing culture and language, chapter 10 focuses on culturally acceptable behavior within the Deaf community. Leave taking, persistence in contact, letting others know of your destination, reporting back, detailed introductions, and name signs are examples of unique cultural behaviors associated with Deaf people and Deaf culture. Holcomb does not stop here but ventures in more unfamiliar territory, discussing unwritten rules when it comes to qualifying for board positions or athletic events designed for Deaf people (and not for deaf people?), expectations associated with signing (or speaking) in front of nonsigners (or nonspeakers), as well as speaking skills within the Deaf community. Privacy, attention-getting techniques, detailed descriptions, as well as directness and openness are also discussed as social behaviors typically associated with Deaf people. Finally, Deaf peoples desire to have children like them is also explored.

SLS 14(3) BM Pgs 402-414.indd 407

4/16/2014 8:12:08 AM

408|Sig n L ang uag e Studi e s

Chapter 11 considers the vibrancy of the Deaf community by presenting different solutions Deaf people have created for effective living based on successful strategies that have evolved over more than two centuries and been passed down from generation to generation. These include social activities, athletic events, political functions, self-advocacy, special-interest groups, spiritual/religious support, and large gatherings such as the Deaf expositions, Deaf cruises (including one that attracted more than four thousand people), and travel tours. As examples of a Deaf-centric city, a detailed narrative of the Deaf communities of Fremont, California, and Rochester, New York, is presented. While most books about Deaf culture completely omit discussion of the disability rights movement and disability studies in an effort to dissociate Deaf culture from disability, Holcomb bravely ventures into this explosive territory, pointing out how many people are guilty of ableism when thinking that Deaf people are not simply deaf but also unable. He mentions prominent Deaf people from a variety of fields, including professional athletes, Hollywood actors, dancers, lifeguards, sheriffs, fire chiefs, attorneys, engineers, scientists, dentists, physicians, and more. The rights movements for the Deaf community and the disability community are compared for points of convergence (removing the pathological perspective of being Deaf or having a disability, as famously exemplified by the 1988 Deaf President Now movement) and divergence (Deaf people as a linguistic minority and supportive of schools for deaf children, as opposed to communities of people with disabilities vying for inclusion and mainstreaming). Legislation both benefiting and hindering the Deaf community and the disability community is also examined in this chapter. Chapter 13 brings a much-needed spotlight to diversity within the Deaf community. With candor and compassion, Holcomb confesses the Deaf community is not free of bigotry, just like Americans in general. There are Deaf people of color, Deaf gays and lesbians, deaf-blind persons, Deaf Latinos, hard of hearing persons, Deaf people who were mainstreamed, elite Deaf, grassroots Deaf , and regional communities (southwest, the Rockies, New York)the list goes on and on. The second well-known protest at Gallaudet, the Unity for Gallaudet movement in 2006, did not simply object to the selection

SLS 14(3) BM Pgs 402-414.indd 408

4/16/2014 8:12:08 AM

Book Review/Introduction to American Deaf Culture|409

of the university president but also advanced the themes of not deaf enough and not diverse enough, which emerged at this time. The aim of this protest was to push American Deaf communities to evolve from a predominately white, male, deaf-school-centric profile to an increasingly inclusive group of Deaf people from a variety of educational, communicative, racial, and religious backgrounds (276). This is probably the first publication in which the author holds himself and his writing accountable and lists Deaf individuals of color, who are mentioned throughout his book, filling almost three pages, ensuring that different Deaf communities are well represented in his work. Continuing in a similar vein from chapter 11 into 14, the universality of the Deaf experience is explored at the international level, and Holcomb states that many of the cultural values associated with Deaf Americans are similar to those found in Deaf communities across the globe. Many Deaf people all over the world come from impoverished linguistic backgrounds and thus seek out opportunities to enhance their experiences with communities that are visually oriented. This means that many Deaf people belong to translocal and transnational communities. Similar cultural traits include opportunities for coming together, speaking directly, adopting a can-do attitude, and preserving and protecting the right to use a signed language. Again, as mentioned in chapter 11, a detailed narrative of the Deaf experience in vibrant cities all over the world at particular times in history includes Deaf Parisians in the 1800s, Deaf citizens of the Soviet Union during the communist era, and Deaf Swedes in the late twentieth and early twenty-first century. The chapter closes with a discussion of opportunities relevant to Deaf people in the United Statescivil rights laws, the availability of interpreters, and educational optionsand notes the numerous highly skilled, educated, academic leaders and the popularity of ASL classes. Finally, the book ends on a note of trepidation about the future of Deaf communities in view of the billions of dollars being earmarked for finding a cure for being deaf.With this in mind, Holcomb predicts three possible scenarios for the future: (1) a thriving Deaf community; (2) a vanishing Deaf community; and (3) a growing community whose members have multiple handicaps due to the rising numbers of Deaf children being born with additional disabilities. Painful topics such as

SLS 14(3) BM Pgs 402-414.indd 409

4/16/2014 8:12:08 AM

410|Sig n L ang uag e Studi e s

eugenics, genetic engineering, hearing aids, and cochlear implants are discussed with candor. The final pages outline the hopes and dreams of the Deaf community, including the Deaf gain concept, which holds that Deaf children will embrace their Deaf being and appreciate their uniqueness in this fascinating world of diverse cultures (337). The book is peppered with the authors insightful and sometimes humorous anecdotes about Deaf culture, poems written by Deaf people, and various photographs of Deaf art, all of which add a personal, artistic, and visual dimension to a scholarly study of a distinct and often underrepresented culture in the United States. This book would be meaningful to those working with Deaf people in the fields of education, psychology, sociology, philosophy, medicine, and linguistic and cultural studies, as well as, of course, to those in Deaf studies and ASL courses at the college level.

SLS 14(3) BM Pgs 402-414.indd 410

4/16/2014 8:12:08 AM