Allyship and the Deaf Community
Curriculum Guideline
60 hours/semester
- lecture/discussion
- small group work
- guest speakers
- course readings/videos
Allyship
- Principles of social justice as applied to allyship: understanding unequal power, privilege and marginalization
- Characteristics of oppressed and oppressor groups
- Understanding one’s own positionality and intersectionality (self-reflection)
- Unpacking hearing privilege and bias
- Competencies of an effective ally
Professional roles in/alongside the Deaf community
- Deaf-allied professionals (e.g., educators, social workers, mental health workers, intervenors)
- Deaf-hearing partnerships and collaboration (e.g., health professionals, service industry personnel, governments)
- Differences between allyship and advocacy
Role of the sign language interpreter
- Evolution of the interpreter’s role in North America from helper to conduit to ally
- Sign language interpreters as allies
- Settings and systems where sign language interpreters work
- Competencies of an effective interpreter
Relationship between ASL and English
- VGC (Visual Gestural Communication) and In-group signs
- Contact Sign varieties – blending ASL and English
- Signed English – SEE and other manual codes for English
- Majority-minority language use and power
The following major concepts guide the design and delivery of this course:
1. The Deaf community comprises a vibrant linguistic and cultural minority whose members are connected to each other through shared values, norms, art, traditions and especially the primacy of using a signed language.
2. A pathological view of Deaf people as disabled and in need of repair has been prevalent in our society, perpetuating attitudinal and systemic barriers to access to opportunities for education, employment, autonomy and inclusion.
3. Non-Deaf people desiring to be allies to the Deaf community require an understanding of the impact of unequal power and privilege, of marginalization, and of systemic oppression, on both historical and current societal trends.
4. Non-Deaf allies should undertake serious self-reflection and examine their own positionality, attitudes, knowledge, competencies and approach, within a complex social/cultural/political/linguistic context.
5. Interpreters can be key allies, as can educators, early intervention workers, family members, social workers, mental health and health care practitioners, employers, co-workers, intervenors, public service providers, law enforcement personnel, creative professionals, etc. All allies benefit themselves and others by being conscientious and reflective life-long learners.
Upon successful completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- Apply an ally perspective to describe the conflicts between an audist/pathological view and a cultural view of Deaf people;
- Identify the challenges of becoming an ally to the Deaf community;
- Describe the spectrum of visual-gestural communication used by Deaf people and the key differences between ASL and English;
- Analyze the characteristics of group oppression and examine one's own position within this context;
- Recognize the significance of power, privilege and marginalization in the dynamics between non-Deaf and Deaf people in Canadian society;
- Identify ways in which human service providers can facilitate empowerment of Deaf people and effect positive change;
- Describe the evolution and shifting philosophical perspectives of the profession of sign language interpreting in North America; and
- Appraise one's own attributes, competencies, and suitability for interpreting and/or other ally roles.
Means of Assessment
Evaluation will be based on a combination of individual and group work and, at the instructor’s discretion may include presentations and written assignments, papers, quizzes and exams. A sample distribution of graded assignments follows:
• Field research group project – interview of human service provider(s)
o Written summary 15%
o Presentation 15%
• “My intersecting identities” creative project and presentation 15%
• Essay 15%
• Quizzes 30%
• Attendance and participation 10%
This is a letter graded course.
Coursepack purchase required; check Douglas College book store.
No prerequisites.
No corequesites.