Introduction to American Deaf Culture

This should be on the bookshelf of everyone interested in sign language and deaf culture.

I am writing this review as a second year Communication Sciences and Disorders major with an emphasis in education and Deaf studies. I am currently enrolled in a class entitled Orientation to Deafness and this book, Introduction to American Deaf Culture written by Thomas K. Holcomb, is the primary text used for the class. It has been a refreshing addition to the many monotonous textbooks I have been collecting as it's 15 chapters are thoughtfully written and give an honest depiction of Deaf culture along with it's stereotypes, language, art, and literature to name a few. As a professor of Deaf culture classes for 30 years, Holcomb includes anecdotes from his personal life and experiences as a Deaf individual as well as the experiences of his students, children, and colleagues, providing an understandable and comprehensive guide to American Deaf Culture. This book is a great choice as a textbook to provide the basic knowledge you need to begin learning about Deaf culture. He uses pictures, charts, and graphs throughout the book in order to provide better understanding and my personal favorite aspect is the how he uses a poem written by a Deaf person to conclude each chapter. They are thought provoking and give the reader an opportunity to connect with the content in an alternative and interesting way. I use Introduction to American Deaf Culture weekly in order to answer a number of discussion questions. This book not only makes it much less painful to complete the assignments but it makes me truly want to learn more about Deaf culture and its community. I write this as a person who not only actually enjoys a required text but as a person who would recommend this book to anyone who might be taking, or considering taking, an ASL course. I would be willing to say it should be required for students in ASL courses to have an understanding of the community whose languge you are learning to use. I personally am taking Beginning ASL I, using the textbook Master ASL! by Jason Zinza, and Introduction to American Deaf Culture has helped me tremendously simply by providing background knowledge on the signs and language I am learning. Required or not it is an interesting read for anyone interested in Deaf culture, it is truly fascinating and all too often overlooked. I have already learned so much! Overall, I give this book 5 stars based on its interesting qualities and readability. I recommend it, as well as Deaf studies in general, to everyone!

This book is filled with information on Deaf peoples and it is very usefull not only for academic work but also for professionals who work with the Deaf in all fields. It is writen in a very straightforward manner, one that promotes intercultural respect and deeply informs on several relevant aspects of the Deaf community's life. It is my favourite book for the moment!

This came at the time it should have and it was in decent condition. I'm currently using this book for school, and it has been as described.

I bought it fit a college course at a better price than was offered by the school. It’s also an overall good read.