Hi, my name is Bryony-Rose Heathwood and as I write this I am wondering how many of you are sick of hearing “Hello, It’s Me” jokes or just Adele in general, but honestly I don’t care. She is Queen and now is a part of my blog!
Other than being an Adele fan, I am a travel loving, British immigrant who has lived in Canada for over eight years now and I am currently a student at the University of British Columbia-Okanagan and am entering my fourth year. I was lucky to call the University of Victoria home for a couple years then decided to pack up and head home to the Okanagan and finish my degree off with the support of my family and friends. I am majoring in English and will hopefully obtain my degree by the end of next summer (I already said yesterday was my last official first day of school, so fingers crossed that stays true), however that will not be the end of my educational journey.
For the last few years I have also studied American Sign Language and have completely fallen in love with the language, and the Deaf community and culture. If you have never seen a Deaf person wrapped up in their language and culture than you really are missing out. The Deaf community is one of the most open-minded, welcoming communities I have ever been a part of and they love to see anyone attempt to communicate with them! and because of this excitement around the culture I plan to be a part of it full time as I work towards obtaining a diploma in becoming a Deaf Interpreter. I was welcomed into Canada’s Deaf community and here lies more information that welcomes you to the community too. However, don’t be an idiot and follow these rules to avoid being shunned from the Deaf community.
The reason I have gone into detail about this, is because it is what I am passionate about but it also links to this course. How? Well American Sign Language is strongly tied to its culture, its origins and story telling. Story telling is a major source for how the language has progressed over the years and spread around the world. The importance of ones own stories and origins will forever be connected and continue to move through time with additional stories constantly being created. This then works for this course too as I believe that during this course we shall as a group look into the stories of Canada and those that have past through centuries before us and will continue to grow as we grow with them. To be Canadian, as a British Immigrant having moved here eight years ago, has proven to be based on pride and showing that. However, through the lens of literature the pride seems to be failing as the focus of Canadian Literature is absent in most courses. I have completed three years of post secondary education and this year I will be taking my first Canadian Lit course…. that doesn’t seem right. I lived in England for 12 years and during this time I learnt a mass amount about England as a country, its origin, its stories and what made it “The Motherland”. Our history was greatly influential in our school curriculum and through classes such as English and History it was our country that we focused on, not Canada nor the United States- so how come in Canada, we are not looking at ourselves primarily. With this being said, it shows how surprised I was moving to a new country to learn that the literature I would be studying would not focus on the country I was in but rather the country I had just left.
I hope by the end of this course as we focus on Canadian Literature through the lens of the Indigenous people and the many influential Canadians I have yet to learn about, I along with the rest of you will have the opportunity to close that gap of unknown Canadian literature knowledge as we take a microscope to the many stories we have missed out on and also question the ones that are purposely withheld from us. This course will force us to question, how? when? and what? and most importantly why these Canadian stories are so important for our education but also our Canadian identity. And having moved from across the pond, I am ready to learn about my new ‘home’ through a form I love most: reading.
Works Cited
“13 Things to Never Say to a Deaf Person.” Rochelle Barlow. N.p., 2016. Web. 08 Sept. 2016.
“WFD | World Federation of the Deaf – World Federation of the Deaf, WFD, Human Rights, Deaf, Deaf People.” WFD World Federation of the Deaf. N.p., n.d. Web. 08 Sept. 2016.
Hi Bryony-Rose!
I find it really interesting that you have a passion for sign language and plan to become a Deaf Interpreter. I am curious to what led you towards this passion?
After reading your blog post, I agree with your comments that there is a lack of Canadian literature being taught within the school systems. However, I can see where the government struggles in establishing a standard learning outcome on Canadian literature when the category itself is difficult to define. I, myself, find it challenging to describe “Canadian” literature; is Canadian literature defined solely by the stories and histories written in English or can it also be defined by indigenous story-telling and orature? Moreover, Canada is a young country and has not produced such mass literary genius as Britain, we must therefore study these classics for they are innovative works in the history of the English language and the arts. Canadians must also learn about British and European history because it directly influence the colonization of our country. With regard to Canadian literature, I too believe that it should be a mandatory course within ones post-secondary education in Canada. Do we look to UBC in implementing such a standard, or must we look to the government to enforce a greater education in Canadian literature?
Hi Hannah, growing up I was raised by a mother who was a mental health nurse, and a father who was a social worker. Both worked in environments surrounded with disabled people, and for a lot of them they were Deaf. Now I am not in any way saying Deaf people are disabled because that is simply incorrect. But this is where my passion for the Deaf community began. I would go and try and talk to the men and women that were Deaf and they were so happy to see my trying in any way to communicate with them. I learnt that because they were Deaf a lot people just thought of them as “Deaf and Dumb” the notorious saying, and so would ignore them. They just want to be included, to be spoken to and not forgotten. So I want to make sure that I am someone who does not ignore them and help them express this to hearing people.
I alongside you cannot define what Canadian literature is exactly, but for myself personally I think of Canadian Literature as the stories written and orally spoken by the Indigenous people whose land we are upon. Canada is home for millions of people, from all over the world, but Canada is the actual “Home” of the Indigenous people and I want to learn about their lives and experiences in connection to this country, whether positive or negative.
I do believe we should look to the government to enforce a greater education in Canadian literature as UBC is not the only school lacking in this subject, I previously went to Uvic and there too was not presented with many courses like this one in a mandatory sense.
What a wonderful community of people to be engaged with. Historically people with disabilities have also had major barriers to being involved in the greater storytelling process of our nation so its awesome to hear that you are learning more about the art of story from this diverse and gifted, but also higher risk of being excluded, community.
Hi Stephanie, thank you for your interest, but first off I would just like to say in no way are Deaf people Disabled. They are just like anyone else but have one sense taken away and have had their other senses greatly heightened which sometimes I am a little jealous of. I would love a better awareness of my surroundings like they do! The storytelling that is told by the Deaf communities are incredible, the history and experiences portrayed as they get over certain obstacles is beautifully expressed as they try to prevent the exclusion that they constantly feel. I really recommend watching any form of story expressed by a Deaf person on YouTube or in person to just witness how eye catching they are.
hi byrony! thanks for your response and for the suggestions! watching deaf storytelling is absolutely riveting!
i meant no offense by saying deaf people are disabled – i think disability can be a personal choice, but i am open to offering that i have permanent disabilities, and it does not make me very much unlike other people, however how it does distinguish me is that it does put me at lesser advantage than others, and it means that my voice or my needs may be more prone to be missed as people who are more “able” may be less prone to understand me. for example, most educational institutes will offer disability statuses for people who have extra needs, like in my case for reduced stimulation atmosphere for exams, and extra support when i am sick or in need, and for deaf people it can mean a signing interpreter. referring to myself as disabled is a way i can help people understand that i am different and have different needs then most in order to be able to function. i don’t believe it makes me lesser than, rather it allows me to get my needs taken care of, and have dignity in being the unique person i am.
so the reason i refer to deaf people as disabled is because i refer to myself as disabled because it helps me to do so. have you had personal experience in the deaf community where deaf members have expressed they prefer not to be labelled disabled? i would love to change my language to be the most respectful as possible to the deaf community!
Hi Stephanie, I hope you did not take me saying that in a negative way. It was not a personal direct defense comment to you but rather a fact that needs to spread around. I am glad you told me why you said it and I completely understand and I appreciate you sharing your personal struggles with me. I in no way can speak for the Deaf community because I am hearing but from experience working with the Deaf people I have, the terms Disabled, Deaf and Dumb or Hard of Hearing are terms that they do not appreciate being link to them.
hi byrony! thanks for sharing what the deaf communicty ahs taught you about the language they prefer to be addressed with. i didnt take offense, it was all curiosity, and drawing attention to the fact that some people prefer to be considered disabled and don’t see the term as being disempowering. is “hearing impaired” an appropriate term to use in your experience? or have you found “deaf community” the most correct term?
i think this conversation brings to light the need to look at people as individuals and not groups when we address groups of people, because every group is made up of very diverse human beings. perhaps there are some deaf people who prefer to be called disabled, but when i referred to the entire deaf community as disabled i was incorrectly labeling the entire group, and the problem you have pointed out is that many people are incorrectly labeling the deaf community which must be very frustrating and stigmatizing for them.
whoops! i apologize profusely for misspelling your name. how embarrassing! i’m so sorry.
would you be able to mention specific examples of ways youve seen this community empowered, or alternatively disempowered voice-wise in modern canada?
Hi again. The life for Deaf people years ago was in some ways like the life of children in residential schools. Deaf children were seen as outcasts and their language was forbidden. Deaf children were mostly forced to attend hearing schools where signing was not allowed whatsoever, not even to each other privately. Only the English language was allowed and seen as the superior language of all, end of discussion. If caught, the children had their hands tied together and had to sit on them. This forcefulness to learn English pushed the Deaf away from hearing people overall and it has taken a lot for the two communities to intertwined positively again. I brought this up because an empowering thing I believe the Deaf have gone through in modern Canada is something of personal choice. The invention of Cochlear Implants (a device that allows Deaf people to hear) came about and in modern Canada a lot of Deaf people without force of pressure are choosing for themselves whether they want to have it or not. I believe this is empowering as for those who chose not to have one are showing the world that they are Deaf and that there is nothing wrong with that, not being able to hear is something they have grown with and come accustomed to and will not be forced to change into anyone other than themselves. It also shows progression in the Deaf world in Canada as years before, this device would have been mandatory for all Deaf people and now it is an option made by Deaf people themselves, and no one else.
wow what a immense example of the ways in which canadian voices have been silenced. it reminds not only of residential schools but of the ways people with what is most commonly termed “mental illness” have been treated throughout history. absolutely horrific. i cant imagine the trauma of being punished for attempting to communicate.
that’s also really interesting about the cochlear implants. it ties into the conversation we are having in the above comments too, about the power of having personal choice in how we are defined and what we decide is best for ourselves and our choice of how we live. human agency. it is very important for human rights.
one modern and current example of a way i see human rights being completely infringed upon in taking away personal agency is with drug users. i have worked in vancouver’s downtown eastside for several years now and it is still breaks my heart to see what kind of maltreatment people will look away from because it involves drug users or people commonly referred to as being mentally ill. to this day there are governments and officials that fight against the operation of safe injection sites and accessibility to harm reduction tools like naloxone, and in effect this communicates that they do not value the lives of drug users. i see all the time how people figure that drug users should have their power taken away from them just because they disagree with their method of coping and self-medication. drug users should be the ones getting to make the decisions about their safety and what is accessible to them, others have no right to try and control personal agency.
No worries about the name misspelling! I get it all the time. That is really interesting what you have to say about drug users and personal agency,, something I have not deeply thought about but now is something I have a little insight to.