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New PBS Documentary Explores Rich History of America's Deaf Community

This evening public television stations around the country will air a special two-hour history of deaf life in America. The program will air locally, on KPBS TV, next Monday. The program is called "Th

New PBS Documentary Explores Rich History of America's Deaf Community

Tom Fudge: This evening public television stations around the country will air a special two-hour history of deaf life in America. The program will air locally on KPBS TV next Monday. The program is called Through Deaf Eyes , and it tells the story of America's changing attitudes toward the deaf. It also tells of how deaf people have come to demand greater acceptance and civil rights.
   
Today, there are still conflicting attitudes about how deafness should be treated, and how the deaf should be accommodated. The subject is complicated by the fact that there are many forms of hearing loss, some more profound than others. At the same time, the American deaf community has created its own culture, with its own language and it's own ways and traditions. Some say the deaf community is similar to an ethnic minority.

Guests

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  • Carol Padden , professor of communication at the University of California, San Diego
  • Mala Poe , interpreter for Carol Padden
  • Tom Humphries , associate director and associate professor of the Education Studies program, as well as an associate professor in the communication at UCSD
  • Bonnie Sherwood, interpreter for Tom Humphries

End Music:   UNKLE Main Tiltle Theme by UNKLE, from the album  Psyence Fiction   (1998)