Benjamin Lewis & Carol Padden – The Future of Deaf People in the 21stCentury

This presentation examines the changing cultural life of the Deaf community in the US, including delivery of education for young deaf children and the increase of American Sign Language teaching in colleges and universities. Dr. Carol Padden(UCSD) and Mr. Benjamin Lewis(UCLA) will discuss cultural and social forces that currently shape our community, in light of the long history of the language and culture dating from the 18th century in the US. We will also contemplate possible futures for our Deaf community.