Lissa Ramirez-Stapleton, Ph.D.
Image by Kayla Kosaki
IG: yukieillustrates
COURSES I CURRENTLY TEACH
DEAF 200 Introduction of Deaf Studies. (3 units) Can hearing people be apart of the Deaf community? Why are cochlear implants so controversial? Are Signed Exact English, American Sign Language and Pidgin Sign all the same thing? In what ways are Deaf people and people with disabilities similar and different? What type of careers can I obtain working with Deaf people? These are few of the many questions we will dialogue, debate, and answer this semester. This course is designed to introduce you to the most important aspects of the American Deaf experience. We will expose the history, contributions, and contemporary lives of Deaf people in America. Using an interdisciplinary approach, we will address topics such as the diversity of Deaf people, Deaf cultural norms, Deaf art, and Deaf international communities. This course will provide you will a foundation in which future Deaf Studies classes will expand.
DEAF 360 Deaf American Culture. (3 units) How did and does colonization impact Deaf culture? How has language influenced Deaf culture? What does Deaf Space mean and how is it created? What does it mean to be a Deaf Studies Scholar? These are several of the questions that will guide our discussions this semester. This course will start with a macro, or big picture view of what culture means and move to a micro-cultural view of Deaf experiences. Using various critical theories (i.e., Deaf Gain, intersectionality, standpoint, and spatial theory) and literature, we will not only look at Deaf culture but explore different ways of understanding, explaining, and critiquing the larger world in which Deaf people live. As a survey course various areas of Deaf America cultures will be explored including but not limited to oppression and privilege, language, entertainment, space, and diverse intersectional communities (i.e., Deaf-blind, Deaf People of Color, Deaf woman, and Deaf LGBTQ). Our overarching goals are to start thinking and questioning like Deaf Studies scholar, understanding the complexities of Deaf culture and laying a foundation on which other courses will build (i.e., Deaf 400 and 401). Prerequisite: DEAF 200
Deaf 410 Deaf Women. (3 units) In what ways are gendered politics impacting Deaf womyn? Does the increase of womyn attending college include Deaf womyn? How do we start to unpack what it means to be a Deaf woman from an intersectional lens? How can conscious healing practices be incorporated into womyn’s resistances to oppression? These are a few of the many questions we will engage with this semester. This course is a multidisciplinary analysis of Deaf womxn within the U.S. context, and includes the study of social, political, educational and economic factors that have influenced and impacted the role and status of Deaf womxn, including some important events of the womyn’s movement. Our goal is to establish a critical understanding of the multiple intersectional experiences of Deaf womxn while exploring their struggles and resistance. Throughout the course, we will explore Deaf womxn’s life from various perspectives (e.g., disability, race, sexuality and gender) while engaging with the text and selected guest presenters. We will mostly grapple with third and fourth wave feminism looking at contemporary Deaf womxn’s issues, gender socialization, division of labor, identity politics, violence and solidarity. Prerequisite: DEAF 360.
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DEAF 412 Black Deaf Communities. (3 units) This course is designed to disrupt the notion that all Black people are hearing and all Deaf people are White. The course will explore the history of Black Deaf education and culture in the U.S. and the role racism, audism, hearing privilege, and resistance played in its development. We will compare and contrast contemporary realities and issues within Black Deaf education, language, employment, family and culture within the United States, the Caribbean Islands and specific African countries. Using a strengths-based approach, various critical theories and literature, this course will highlight the positive influence Black Deaf culture has made within Deaf and Black hearing communities through the arts and activism. The course’s overarching goal is to push scholarly thought and inquiry using an interdisciplinary Deaf, Black, Critical and Educational Studies lens to understand the complexities of Black Deaf life. Prerequisite: DEAF 360
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DEAF 415 Deaf Studies Service Learning. (3 units) Have you thought about life after college? Are you graduate school bound or headed straight for the workforce? What type of work environment do you want to work in? Have you visited a graduate school program yet? This semester will be an opportunity to explore career possibilities and after graduation options through interactive assignments, classroom presenters and reflection activities. You will also have an opportunity to put your Deaf Studies learning into practice through service-learning projects. You will complete 45 hours of service with a Deaf centered organization in the Los Angeles area. This is an opportunity to learn from social workers, advocates, counselors, and other administrators who currently work with and within the Deaf community. In addition, you will be able to build your resume, examine a work environment, assess your ASL and communication skills, observe the dynamics of social interaction, and better understand the unique factors facing Deaf & hard of hearing individuals.
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