Speakers
Details

Noah Buchholz is a PhD candidate in Religion & Society at Princeton Theological Seminary and a senior lecturer in the Humanities Council and Program in Linguistics at Princeton University. He is also a Certified Deaf Interpreter (CDI), American Sign Language (ASL)-English translator, and performing artist. His research interests include disability/Deaf studies, sign language linguistics and literature, political/liberation theology, and postcolonial/decolonial theory.
The term “Deaf gain” is a word play on the label “hearing loss.” Many people view deafness as a loss—hence, the term “hearing loss.” In response, Deaf people develop the concept of “Deaf gain” in order to show that being Deaf has many benefits and Deaf people’s culture and language have a lot to offer to society.
This concept is critical for the field of education because many people attempt to educate Deaf children at the expense of Deaf gains. One example is attempting to teach Deaf children without giving them full access to sign language. Many Deaf children fail to acquire substantial speech skills. Because they have not been given access to sign language at an early age, they develop what is called “language deprivation syndrome,” a set of intellectual disabilities found in children who have been deprived of language at an early age. As Steven Pinker points out, “the deaf are virtually the only neurologically normal people who make it to adulthood without having acquired a language.
With the goal of demonstrating Deaf gains, this seminar introduces the basics of Deaf culture and American Deaf history. An emphasis will be made on the unique benefits of sign language. The discussion on various Deaf gains will then be applied to the topic of equity in the field of education.