Posts Tagged: capital

Capital / Culture / Signed language — Comments Off
21
Jul 11

The Thought Experiment

My brain

When most of us imagine an experiment, we imagine people dressed in white coats with subjects succumbing to their will. In reality, these tests are done under careful scrutiny and has a lengthy ethical review process. But there is a different type of experiment that doesn’t require subjects, it is a thought experiment.

One of the most famous thought experiments is Schrödinger’s Cat. It described a cat locked inside a metal box attached to a decaying atom. If the atom decayed, it would trigger a canister of hydrochloric acid to be released inside the box and the fumes would kill the cat. Because the decaying of the atom has a 50:50 chance that it could decay, or not; the state of atomic flux would also place the cat in the same flux. Hence, inside the box, the cat was both alive and dead at the same time. This is a scientific definition of a paradox.

If you get the experiment, great, but if you don’t, not to worry. The point is that the concept of paradox can be defined. A thought experiment creates an undeniable proof that does not need to be put into practice. Nobody wants to force a cat inside a metal box, neither should it happen. So, it stays as a thought experiment.

In my thought experiment, I want to give a group of people 100 gold coins. This group is going shopping. They can not buy anything, they can only purchase items from a given list that I have supplied. The only rule is that each person must be genuine and buy something that they will want/use.

The group must be a mixture of deaf and hearing people. In fact, the diversity of the group will come under four categories:

  • A hearing person who only uses English.
  • A deaf person who only uses English.
  • A deaf person who only uses BSL.
  • A deaf person fluent in both BSL and English.
So each person will have 100 gold coins to buy as much of the following they wish. Every item they invest in is worth 10 gold coins each. There are two lists to choose from:
  • The entire works of Shakespeare.
  • The music of Beethoven on CDs.
  • Tickets to see the Swan Lake ballet.
  • A guided tour around a national museum.
  • A visit to the opera:  Mozart’s last concerto.
  • An invitation to the national Monarch or President’s meet and greet event.
And this list as well:
  • Tickets for the Deaf cruise, sailing through the Caribbean with 2000 Deaf people on the ship.
  • Full video collection of sign language poems, such as Clayton Valli or Dot Miles.
  • Entry to an event hosted by Signmark, a Deaf rapper.
  • A day in the Deaf historical archives.
  • A night out in the International Deaf Club.
  • A Volunteer OverSeas trip to build a school for Deaf children.

You may have guessed that the former list represents what is known as culture with a capital ‘C’, or otherwise known as ‘higher culture’. The latter represents that cultural activities that would be of value to members of the Deaf community. One would assume that all items on the list are accessible to all people, therefore interpreter and captioning services would be available; the question is whether these four people would be interested to invest money in them.

The results could look something like this:

  • A hearing person who only uses English. [100 gold coins spent]
  • A deaf person who only uses English. [30 gold coins spent]
  • A deaf person who only uses BSL. [70 gold coins spent]
  • A deaf person fluent in both BSL and English. [100 gold coins spent]

The more one spends on the two lists, the more they are able to operate within the cultural norms of the worlds we live in (Deaf or non-deaf). The higher access and interest in these cultural items results with a person who has a higher level of cultural capital. Hence, a more culturally competent individual would be more successful financially and be more connected.

Bilingual Deaf people and a non-deaf person will always be able to spend the most, they will be the most culturally adept. At the other end of the scale, the deaf person who uses English as their only means of communication has so little cultural resources available to them. They feel on the ‘rim’ of both communities, or both worlds. Hence, they are least likely to be culturally mobilised, less socially connected and with lower economic power. The move to ‘normalise’ deaf people by offering resources to use their residual hearing as a route to equality is essentially flawed. It leaves a person who is not able to function in either Deaf or non-deaf worlds because they do not have the cultural resources available to them.

There is nothing paradoxical about this thought experiment but one can not escape that fact that the ‘normalisation agenda’ is a route to further segregation and exclusion; opposite to current thinking on ‘inclusion’. Like a cat in metal boxes sitting in a persistant state of flux: they are deaf-cum-hearing people but, at this point in time, neither of the two. The medical/educational agendas are creating social paradox, they are placing deaf people in a state of flux. This thought experiment has suddenly become very real.

A photograph of my brain from 3 angles.
Capital / Symbolic — 7 Comments
20
Jul 11

Raising the Deaf Flag

Deaf flag image

There are many symbols that have been used in our day and age that provide a symbolic representation of an identity. A flag is only one of them. There are also salutes, oaths, statues, symbolic shapes (crosses and stars), handshakes/nose rubs, badges, dances, costumes, hair styles, headwear, books, jewellery and more. All have been utilised by countries, political groups, religions and interest groups.

I must congratulate the Swedish Deaf Association for investing their time and energy in creating a flag, as shown at the start of this blog. It has a series of blue strips to represent that five continents in different shades of blue, the colour of the World Federation of the Deaf. WFD is having their congress in Durban, South Africa, just this week.

It has been called for WFD to approve the flag, and this should be welcomed. But it should not be the flag of WFD, it already has its own symbol that is internationally recognised. This is the flag that should represent the pluralism of Deaf communities that could be used and distributed by anyone.

As a Gay man, the rainbow flag is a potent symbol because wherever I see the colours, I know that place welcomes me. It ranges from a painted symbol across the top of a building or a small badge in the shop window. It is a symbols that tells me, ‘this place is safe from persecution.’ Maybe ‘persecution’ is a strong word but when you arrive in a public place and you are welcomed in signed language, it is an enormous sigh of reassurance. A place devoid of judgement and hostility. You feel safe.

Do we need a flag? Oh yes. But is this the flag? I am not too sure. It is unsymmetrical and too many shades of the same colour. It is not noticeable from afar and too loyal to the international colours. It needs to be a flag of the people and not of the UN.

What is delightful is that this flag comes far away from the symbols of slashes: a slash through the ear or a slash through the word ‘loss’. Nobody wants to see a symbol that says ‘can’t', instead of ‘can’. A Deaf flag needs to free people from the chains of assumed inability or the past and give people the freedom to create their own futures. Symbols are potent in keeping communities together and creating places for the Deaf community to nurture their capital.

Image is not a true representation of the flag but an imitation for the purpose of this blog.
Capital — Comments Off
15
Jul 11

Deaf Capital Thermometer: July 2011

What is going hot and cold in the Deaf village? Here is a thermometer of events cooling down or heating up Deaf capital.

15-7-2011

Capital / Community — Comments Off
12
Jul 11

The GDP of the Deaf Village

Money

It happened in a lucid dream. I was walking through a village but this place was different. It was so easy to see who was at home and who wasn’t. The front of the houses had large windows, like shop fronts, with drawn blinds. The lights were on but some had the blinds drawn up and others down; some had them slightly ajar so they could see out but not in. But those that were open, people we waving from window to window beckoning one family over to another for a cup of tea.

The houses were arranged in a circle, cul de sacs, that were joined to other circles, who were joined to some more. We were all circling the centre, a central forum with a glass dome. The light streamed from the sky to the central hall and its rays, multicoloured, shone down to the floor. The space was wide, open, with groups of balconies reaching up to the edge of the glass dome. It was a multifunctional centre used for civil activities, trade and entertainment. At the far end, opposite the front door (majestic as it was), two hands were painted on the wall, littered with candles. On the walls, it wrote, “through our hands, come light.”

Someone tapped me on the shoulder and I quickly turned round, “are you ready?” We were signing. “For what”, I retorted with surprise. “For your presentation on the GDP.” And I woke up. Phew! Another ethnic dream.

Gross Domestic Product is calculated from private consumption + gross investment + government spending + (exports – imports) or GDP = C + I + G + (eX – i). It made me think, what is the GDP of the Deaf village? It may be an imagined village, but the trade between members of this village is as real as you and me. Deaf people do trade with other sign language users for ease of communication and affinity with their peers. This topics reminds me of a previous subject I raised: so, how much am I worth?

But how has the GDP, or the total worth, of the Deaf village changed over the years. In the industrial revolution and the period of Enlightenment (Victorian times), the Deaf village included all people who used sign language as their main means of communication. We were looking at possibly a million people in the UK but nearly all working in lower trades. There were pockets of inherently wealthy Deaf people who met in small groups and funded their activities. It was still a substantial GDP.

Then there were events that devalued the Deaf GDP, they raided the Deaf village bank. I am going to put an imaginary figure (calculated from UK total GDP): the value of 5 million Deaf and hard of hearing people in the UK, which is a total of £90.5 million.  So, lets explore the events that influenced the GDP of the Deaf village:

Two-tier education system (Early 20th century)

Children were divided into two classes: one educated to develop their speech and the other provided with a minimal level of education in signed language. The educators used threats for ‘demotion to the lower group’ to ensure segregation. The single Deaf village split into two, and neither would trade with the other. As the village was split in half, the GDP is halved to £45.3 million. One group is called Deaf and the other is called hard of hearing.

Period of Loquomania: hearing aid technology and intensive oral education (1945-70)

2/3 of Deaf children were sent to an oral school where they were taught the ways of hearing people through a punishment regime. The children left without awareness of the Deaf village and it may be years before they discover them. The period of contribution to the GDP shortened as the new arrivals were already adults. So, GDP was lowered by 2/3 (size of group) and then 2/3 (time spent inside the Deaf village) again. GDP falls to a total of £20 million.

Era of Signed Systems (1970 to 80s)

Out of the remaining group, some were taught using a signed system invented by educators. There were 5 on the market: Paget Gorman, SEE, Cued Speech, Makaton, Total Communication. The result left some members of the Deaf village leaving school with a communication system not used by other people. So GDP was divided by a 5th but some gradually rejoined the Deaf village by learning signed language later in life. So the impact was lessened. Therefore a 1/5 of the population left the village. GDP of the Deaf village is now £16 million.

Mainstream education (1980-today)

Out of the 17k deaf and hard of hearing children in education in any given year, 14k of them are mainstreamed in a school with other children who are non-deaf. They do not receive any awareness of the Deaf village and therefore do not invest in it. The Deaf village should grow by 25% each decade if all children entered the Deaf village each year. In fact, only 5% join the Deaf village; 20% is lost every generation. In real terms, the Deaf village is unable to grow.

As Deaf people are least likely to have equality in the work place, increased chance in mental health illnesses, and of an older generation, the productiveness of the Deaf Village is lower. Lets say that total GDP of the Deaf village is now £3.4 million.

In a space of 100 years, in today’s terms, the total of GDP has devalued by £87.1 million. The Bank of Deaf has been pilfered and reduced in value over the years.

The second night, I returned to the dream again. This time I brought a friend. He is deaf too but oblivious to life in the Deaf village. So, I showed him the cul de sacs and the central hall. I showed him the pictures on the walls spanning 300 years of history. I took him to the classes retelling the stories of old and the old philosophers who recount the theories of the past. He would sense the community spirit, the world of sharing and belonging; laughing together. But the hall was so big for so few people. He asks me, “where have they gone?” I raise my eyebrows knowingly and took him to the white picket fence that surrounds the village. In the distance there is a highway of people busying about hooting, shouting and edging their way through, desperate for some space. I raise my hand and point to the busy highway, “just there.”

Photo by AMagill
Capital / Culture — 3 Comments
6
Jul 11

The Professionalisation of Deaf Cinema

Hand Solo

The recent awards ceremony at Clin d’Oeil has awarded the heroes of modern Deaf cinema and they are from the UK. They are Charlie Swinbourne, Bim Ajadi, William Mager, Louis Neethling and Ted Evans. These are the names you should remember and watch for years to come. They have taken the traditions of Deaf theatre from the Deaf club stage and brought it to the masses.

There is something about Deaf stories that can lighten and heavy any heart. Sign language has a comical twist where signs can be a visible pun but its metaphors can reverberate through the lives of many. The winning team have artistic, filming and authoring expertise that has become more polished from film to film. The Deaf film industry is growing up, they are professional and have potential to elbow some space in British cinema.

Deaf films would never have lifted off without the existence of BSL Broadcasting Trust, a small amount of money is commissioned to film makers that gives them the artistic freedom to push the boundaries. But this small investment has rewarded us ten-fold.

Hand Solo is a mockumentory of a Deaf porno star who gives atomic orgasms, or is it digitic? It is a story of unrequited love and betrayal disguised as a comic caper. What is impressive is the artistic amalgamation of superb acting, camera-work and special effects. The film looks polished and acute in its story telling, a story that anyone can understand. One does not have to be Deaf to appreciate the nuances of this film and laugh at the pixel fuzzing of the hyper-speed hand. There is a great comic duo developing between Matt Kirby and Ben Green that would inspire any script writer or director.

There are many others that are worthy of your attention, such as My Song and The End. Both have great story lines that challenges how we can talk about the Deaf community and bring real issues alive for all to see.

I feel a change in me after seeing these films. I can talk about Deaf films with great pride and place it on the list of great British cinema. I can grab the next stranger on the street and say, “have you seen our Deaf films?” Because, if you haven’t, you are certainly missing something.

Nb. To keep yourself up dated on Deaf cinema, go to BSLBT Zoom.

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