I guess i should post my paper so that you guys can tell me if i'm on the right track. If anything seems to offensive, let me know and i'll change it immediatly
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One of the greatest misunderstandings in civilization through time is between the deaf and the hearing people. There are some hearing people who think that all deaf are intellectually challenged while the deaf are afraid, angry, and hurt by this common thought. This misunderstanding has yet to be resolved.
Before the 1500’s, most people believed that intelligence and speech were connected; therefore, if you couldn’t speak you were considered unintelligent. Even Aristotle believed that those who were born deaf were incapable of reason and completely senseless. Many believed that it was completely impossible to teach the deaf any knowledge whatsoever.
In a religious sense, deaf were not allowed to take part in any temple rituals. There were also rules that protected the deaf from being cursed. St. Augustine thought that the sins of the parents came down upon their children causing deafness. Deafness was considered a hindrance of faith, but the deaf could learn and therefore receive salvation.
During the time of Emperor Justinian, a simple and clear code was written called “Corupus lurus Civilis” or the Justinian Code. This code denied all deaf people the right to own property, create contracts, or write a valid will.
Then, finally, Girolamo Cardan became the first to challenge Aristotle’s idea that deaf could not reason. He also discovered that the deaf did not have to learn how to speak before they could learn. He also accepted a report written by Rudolph Agricola on a deaf mute that had learned to write. Rudolf was a Dutch humanist who believed that the deaf could communicate through writing. He further wrote that speech was separate from intelligence. These kinds of breakthrough began to grow more and more numerous as people realized that the deaf did have intelligent thought.
Thomas Gallaudet wished to become a preacher, but that wish was immediately put aside when he met Alice Cogswell. Alice was a nine-year-old daughter of Gallaudet’s neighbor, Dr. Mason Cogswell. Gallaudet was asked to travel Europe to find a way to teach Alice. On these travels he heard that was another family, the Braidwoods, which were also involved in deaf education using an oral method. Unfortunately, he found the Braidwoods unwilling to share their methods and he did not find good results with them. Gallaudet then came across a deaf school in Paris, France. Abbé Sicard, head of the Institution Nationale des Sourds-Muets à Paris (National Institution of Deaf-mute in Paris), invited Gallaudet to come study their methods of education. Here, Gallaudet learned of sign language and was very impressed with the results. He was able to convince one of the graduates of the school, Laurent Clerk, to come and help Gallaudet with the deaf education in America. The two were able to raise enough money from all over America to found the American School for the Deaf. Alice was then able to attend this school among six other deaf students; even hearing students came eager to learn.
As a result of this long and somewhat agonizing history, the deaf have drawn away from hearing to which is commonly called the Deaf Culture. Culture is a group of similar people who share behaviors, language, and social beliefs. Some hearing would people ague that the Deaf Culture is not really a culture at all while some members of the Deaf Culture would fight to the death to keep that culture.
