COU-709 Culture, Identity & the American Deaf Community

This course is designed to focus on the culture and identity of deaf/hard of hearing individuals and their related cultural communities in the context of American society. It will promote in-depth exploration and understanding of personal, socio-political, and cultural relationships of these individuals and communities and the effects on the counseling process and relationship between counselor and client, including group and systems level change dynamics. The course will utilize and build upon the theoretical frameworks and practices introduced in COU 730: Social and Cultural Diversity Foundations & Multicultural Counseling, including continuation of the ”Sharing Views” cross cultural dialogue groups. There will be 5 units in this course: Deaf people within a Multicultural Framework, Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Deaf populations, Intersectionality and Deaf Identities, Culturally Responsive Practice (Counselor to Client and Client Systems), and Working with Deaf Children in context of their Family, School, and Community.