Course

Professional and Cultural Mediation

Faculty
Applied Community Studies
Department
Sign Language Interpretation
Course Code
INTR 1225
Credits
3.00
Semester Length
Flexible delivery ranging over 2 to 15 week
Max Class Size
16
Method(s) Of Instruction
Lecture
Seminar
Typically Offered
To be determined

Overview

Course Description
This course provides students with opportunities to explore the concept of sign language interpreters as cultural mediators within their professional role. Role-play, culturally-linked texts and field experiences will be used to stimulate discussion, reflection and class projects.
Course Content

The following global ideas guide the design and delivery of this course:

  • Oppression influences the group dynamics between majority-minority group members in predictable, identifiable ways.
  • It is critical that interpreters understand the characteristics of oppressed and oppressor peoples and recognize any tendencies they may have to use their position of power to reinforce this status quo.
  • Empowerment of individuals in Deaf-Deaf interactions and in Deaf-hearing interactions results in healthy and essential self-determination.  Interpreters can play a part in the empowerment of others in interpreted interactions.
  • Language and culture cannot be separated.  A significant part of communication facilitation that an interpreter provides depends on cultural, as well as linguistic, mediation.
  • “Professionalism” is a concept which grows from a cultural frame of reference.  Interpreters must know the meaning of “professionalism” from both a Deaf cultural frame and from a hearing cultural frame.  Further, interpreters must know how to balance that role in Deaf-hearing interactions.
  • Professional practice requires critical thinking and the application of ethical principles in making decisions.  Further, practitioners must be able to clearly express their decision and the basis for their point of view in a variety of formats and settings.
  • In order to be credible, professional practitioners, it is important for sign language interpreters to become certified.
Learning Activities
  • Lecture/discussion
Means of Assessment

This course will conform to Douglas College policy regarding the number and weighting of evaluations. Typical means of evaluation would include a combination of:

  • Attendance and participation
  • Written assignments
  • Group work/presentations
  • Case studies

This is a letter graded course.

Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion of this course, the student will be able to:

  1. Analyze the impact of oppression on Deaf /hearing interactions and the role of the interpreter in minimizing the effects of oppression
  2. Explain the interpreter’s role in empowering the interlocutors in interpreted situations
  3. Illustrate how cultural and linguistic mediation is integral to the communication facilitation provided by an interpreter
  4. Compare “professionalism” from a Deaf and hearing cultural frame
  5. Utilize a decision-making model
  6. Apply ethical principles to interpreting situations
  7. Assess how certification applies to being a credible professional practitioner.
Textbook Materials

T.B.A.

Requisites

Prerequisites

B or above in INTR 1142, INTR 1145

Corequisites

No corequisite courses.

Equivalencies

No equivalent courses.

Course Guidelines

Course Guidelines for previous years are viewable by selecting the version desired. If you took this course and do not see a listing for the starting semester / year of the course, consider the previous version as the applicable version.

Course Transfers

These are for current course guidelines only. For a full list of archived courses please see https://www.bctransferguide.ca

Institution Transfer Details for INTR 1225
There are no applicable transfer credits for this course.

Course Offerings

Summer 2024