Deaf Culture, through a Sojourners Perspective

By: Natalie Candelaria

I am a hearing student who has a deep appreciation for deaf culture and American Sign
Language. Currently Im in the beginning stages of my Deaf Studies major. Upon entering my
deaf culture class, our professor immediately, stated that we in fact are not deaf, therefore we
will never truly understand. At first I was genuinely taken back, and maybe a little insulted,
almost like it was an attack on my ability to empathize with others. Deaf people are known for
being direct, and blunt, which is something a hearing person needs to equate themselves with
when opening up to the deaf world. My professor then stressed the importance of sojourning and
attitude. And every assignment we completed revolved around the understanding of the role of a
sojourner.
A true sojourner is a person who maintains a sense of neutrality when entering a culture
which is not native to their own. My professor described the sojourning experience like a coin.
One side of the coin is your own culture, the other side is the unfamiliar culture, in order to have
a true sojourning experience you would need to walk on the rim of the coin. And of course a
proper open minded attitude when trying to understand a culture unlike our own.
The first time I made the realization that deaf people existed was in elementary school.
She was a browned haired girl who everyone would uncomfortably glare at during lunch and
recess and made obscure and abrupt noises with her voice. If I am to be honest, I never spoke to
her once, but because of my child-like curiosity I did stare. I learned later that was the day I was
born hearing, the day I realized that there was a language which solely relied out on facial
expressions and hand movement/shapes to communicate and convey tone. I was about 6 years
old when I was born hearing.

On the opposite spectrum of being born hearing, there are those who are of course
born deaf. To be born deaf the deaf individual no matter what age, would make the
realization that there is a hearing world. In class we would hear stories of the exact moment
someone was born deaf, some were enlightening, like the time when a deaf individual visited a
to a next door neighbors house for the first time. He came from a strong signing background,
and that it was strange they didnt communicate through sign.
An assignment which I really felt encompassed the true sojourning experience was a
reading assignment toward the end of this semester. The book was Wonder Struck by Brian
Selznick. It is a book about two different characters in different time periods. One born deaf and
the other became fully deaf in his early teens. The author showed the different perspectives of the
two characters, one was a written story, and the other was solely based on pictures. What made
this book a sojourning experience is that through research and sojourning the author was able to
capture a deaf experience when he himself was born hearing.
To those who choose to read this, or are thinking of taking on sign language, deaf studies,
or any language, an open mind is a must. Hopefully, you can leave your comfort zone and enjoy
your sojourning experience.