ASL

ASL 101 is an introductory course to American Sign Language as it is used within the American Deaf community, as well as an introduction to Deaf Culture and history. The class will emphasize non-verbal communication as students learn basic vocabulary, sentence structure, facial expressions, signing parameters and other grammatical markers. Students will start to build basic expressive and receptive skills in American Sign Language that will be reinforced by a variety of activities.

ASL 102 is a second level course in American Sign Language as it is used within the American Deaf community, as well as a continuation of discussion of Deaf Culture and history. The class will emphasize non-verbal communication as students continue to build their sign vocabulary, sentence-structure, facial expression, and other grammatical markers. Students will continue to strengthen their expressive and receptive skills in American Sign Language as they engage in conversations that will be reinforced by a variety of activities. Content from ASL 101 will be continually reviewed and built on in this course.

This course explores Deafness through a cultural lens defined by members of the Deaf community. Students will explore the American Deaf community as a cultural minority, united using American Sign Language (ASL), and not as a group defined by their physiological condition of hearing loss. This course will further explore Deafness as a culture and how it intersects with other sub-groups including race, gender, and sexuality. Students will explore the American Deaf community as a linguistic minority whose traditions, beliefs, ethics, and heritage differ from the worldview that has been ascribed to the community. This course will prepare students who are entering a variety of fields such as, but not limited to, healthcare, social justice and human services, education, law enforcement and corrections, and hospitality among others. This course will increase student sensitivity, awareness, and understanding of Deaf culture.