Karlin’s Deaf Dual Consciousness as a Gallaudet College Student and the Act of Balancing Between Two Worlds

Karlin’s Deaf Dual Consciousness as a Gallaudet College Student and the Act of Balancing Between Two Worlds

Question

What did you learn about Carlin as a deaf person in the field of conflict between the deaf and the deaf?

A) What did you learn about Carlin as a deaf person in the field of tension between deaf and hearing people?

B) Can I apply as a student and as someone who spans multiple worlds and decides what I want to be involved in in my life at Gallaudet?

Answer

Carlin was one of the most successful deaf people in mid-19th century America. He began his successful career as a painter, writer and sculptor, making acquaintances with audio guides such as William Seward. He was the first in America to write a petition for a national college for the deaf in his 1854 letter. I also learned that hearing loss did not prevent Carlin from succeeding. This was exemplified when his call for the creation of a national university for deaf Americans was launched and he gave a grand speech conferring the university’s first honorary doctorate in recognition of his achievements (Greenwald & Van Cleve, 2008). I have learned that even though Carlin utilized sign language, married equally deaf woman and remained a life-long advocate for deaf individuals, he displayed deeper ambivalence in his written works towards his deaf identity, which oscillated between perceiving deaf individuals as inferior and assertion of their equal capability and intelligence. I have learned that Carlin showed a deaf double-consciousness had consequences for the present-day comprehension not merely of the educated deaf mindset then, but also of the start of the 1st college of higher education for deaf individuals in the globe. I have also learned that in his works, for example, the poem “The Mute`s Lament” he viewed himself via the eyes of the majority despite his implicit question of such a view. Indeed, Carlin displays himself as a miserable outcast, manifesting not merely the withdrawal he felt from hearing individuals around him, but further some fashionable Byronic alienation. I have also learned that Carlin omitted sign language and any specific hint of the deaf society, and exhibiting himself as a secluded deaf, “I” making him follow the case of the 1st published deaf poet in the US, who had gone through an identical strategy in his work, The Ministrel Boy. This remains the classic expression of an inferiority complex, and Carlin seems to have systematically internalized the attitude of the majority that portrays himself as an inferior other. We found Karlin’s demeanor to be somewhat sane. Carlin was definitely deaf, which made life more difficult for him. Also, it is still common to expect all worldly worries to be removed from heaven. We also learned that Carlin was successful in repeating dominant stereotypes and implicitly critiquing them through key paradoxes in his poetry.

Can I apply as a student and someone who spans multiple worlds and decides what to do with my life at Gallaudet?

As a student who straddles multiple worlds and decides what to participate in life at Gallaudet, I can use Michael Oliver’s Four Personal and Political Domains (adapted to his academic experience in higher education) as a guide for discussion. These four areas include my growing political awareness, the development of my career and its impact on my growing political awareness, my growing commitment to disabled people and the organizations I have started, and my growing understanding of this disability as a personal, sociological and social phenomenon, and finally my gradual withdrawal from my academic and political life to focus primarily on doing nothing and other things. True to the motto ‘Individuals are Individuals’, my personal experience helps me decide what to attend at Gallaudet. That way, you can weigh the positives and negatives before making decisions that have more positives.

In terms of ‘both personally and professionally’, I will use my professional interest in disability to assist in decision-making at this facility. Therefore, if you are confident that there is an opportunity for the interests you are pursuing, you will make a positive decision to live at this property. As for “personal becomes political”, I base my judgments on my attitude, even if it’s never popular with disabled people. This means I have to accept that I am also disabled and therefore have to make a choice in reaching out to them. By doing so, I will be able to live comfortably and without denial with my peers with disabilities at the institution.

Finally, the fourth domain, Personal is Political, will enable you to make decisions based on an understanding of life’s things and events that will help you recognize the need to shift your personal perception of disability from a personal challenge to a political concern. For example, instead of getting involved in left-wing politics, I am told to listen to what other writers say about injustice, moral bankruptcy, and inequality. This helps us make decisions and participate in debates that ensure justice for all.

Examining my growing political awareness as a student at Gallaudet University will allow me to approach politics not as an active person, but as an observer of what scholars have said about the injustices and injustices faced by disabled people. Also, given how my professional or academic experience develops and influences my growing political consciousness, I am able to base my decisions about what I will be involved in while on duty at Gallaudet based on the knowledge I have gained through my career and academic training. It allows me to focus on doing good and treating people with disabilities. Because these experiences made me realize that people with disabilities are not treated fairly and are seen as inferior.

My involvement with organizations such as SBG, LSU, APA, ELISO, Jr NAD or NAD, the Greek community, sports and the impact of such involvement on my understanding of deafness as a personal, social and political experience on campus and in life, I can decide what to participate on this basis. In particular, participating in the above organizations has increased my understanding of my identity as a deaf person, thereby removing my sense of denial. In this case, I would be able to accept my condition, let go of any perceived inferiority complex, and equally engage with the political, social, and personal experiences that help me work hard toward the realization of my goals.

Eventually, as my responsibilities in social and political life gradually diminish and I focus on other things, such as my schoolwork, I feel the need to be more concerned with my own accomplishments (Oliver, 1995). This is based on my perception that ‘personal is still personal’ and therefore that I need to step back from political and social responsibilities in order to shape what I really want to achieve in life. This helps self-actualization regardless of disability. Because I understand that my skills and intelligence are based on what I did to be intelligent and competent, not just because I was born with a disability.

References

Greenwald, B. H., & Van Cleve, J. V. (2008). A fair chance in the race of life: The role of Gallaudet University in deaf history. Gallaudet University Press.

Oliver, M. (1995). Understanding disability: From theory to practice. Macmillan International Higher Education.