Signs of Change

Brenda Brueggemann and the Disability Studies minor

Feature Transcript:

Brenda Brueggemann:
I'M BRENDA BRUEGGEMANN,
AND I'M CHANGING OUR CULTURE'S IDEAS
ABOUT DISABILITY, AND DISABLED PEOPLE.

>>...ONE DAY, IT BROKE DOWN BECAUSE OF AN AUTOBIOGRAPHY
WE WERE READING ABOUT SOMEONE LIPREADING.
AND THEY KNOW THAT I DO THAT.
AND ACTUALLY, A LOT OF DEAF PEOPLE CAN'T,
AND I DON'T KNOW WHY I CAN DO IT VERY WELL.
NO ONE KNOWS WHY ANYONE CAN OR CAN'T.
AND SUDDENLY IT WORKED OUT THEY WERE JUST SO CURIOUS,
AND THEY HAD NEVER -- YOU KNOW,
THEY KNEW THAT PEOPLE COULD DO THIS, OR NOT,
BUT THEY DIDN'T KNOW HOW PEOPLE DID THAT.
AND THAT'S WHAT THEY WANTED TO KNOW ABOUT.

Megan Kilgore:
I'D FIND MYSELF WALKING DOWN THE STREET,
AND SEEING SOMETHING THAT'S NOT "NORMAL,"
AND I'D THINK, YOU KNOW, WHAT WOULD PROFESSOR BRUEGGEMANN --
WE TALK ABOUT THIS IN CLASS.
AND THAT'S WHAT MAKES HER SUCH A GREAT TEACHER.
SHE MAKES US THINK,
SHE MAKES US RE-INVESTIGATE OUR ACTIONS,
AND SHE MAKES US THINK IN AN ENTIRELY DIFFERENT WAY.

Brueggemann:
>> PEOPLE WANT TO KNOW, "THEN, WHAT CAN YOU HEAR?"
AND I HAVE THIS IMPISH SIDE OF ME --
I LIKE TO THROW THAT QUESTION BACK TO THEM
AND SAY "WELL, WHAT CAN YOU HEAR?"
AND THEN THEY SEE PARTLY WHAT I'M ASKING IS THAT, HEARING,
ACTUALLY LIKE SIGHT, IS REALLY HARD FOR US TO ARTICULATE.
SO, FOR EXAMPLE, I'VE NEVER HEARD A BIRD,
I DON'T HEAR BELLS,
I DON'T HEAR A REGULAR PHONE RING
UNLESS THERE'S A SPECIAL KIND OF LOW WARBLE TONE
THAT YOU CAN SET IT ON.
I DON'T HEAR THE LAST FIVE NOTES ON A PIANO --
THAT OFTEN HELPS PEOPLE ORIENT.
YOU KNOW, E-MAIL HAS BEEN A GODSEND TO ME, IN SOME WAYS,
BECAUSE I DON'T USE THE PHONE VERY MUCH AT ALL.
I HAVE LIMITED USE OF THAT -- MOSTLY WITH FAMILY
AND PEOPLE WHO ARE VERY FAMILIAR.
AND THE FURTHER ALONG I GO IN MY CAREER,
THE MORE IN THIS FIELD, AND I'M ALSO AN ADMINISTRATOR,
THERE'S A DENSE AMOUNT OF PEOPLE WHO WANT TO PICK UP THE PHONE AND CALL YOU.
SO IT'S NOT THERE, BUT INSTEAD I USE E-MAIL.

>>I'M NOW EDITING A COLLECTION FOR GALLAUDET UNIVERSITY PRESS
ON LANGUAGE, LITERACY AND DEAFNESS FROM A CULTURAL PERSPECTIVE.
WHICH, AS FAR AS I KNOW, WILL BE THE FIRST COLLECTION OF ESSAYS
THAT DISCUSSES ISSUES AROUND LANGUAGE AND LITERACY WITH DEAFNESS, THAT DOESN'T TAKE A NEGATIVE ATTITUDE --
THAT DOESN'T TAKE THAT ATTITUDE ABOUT “THOSE POOR DEAF PEOPLE,”
THEY STRUGGLE WITH LITERACY --
ALL THE THINGS THEY DON'T GET RIGHT IN THE HEARING WORLD,
BUT INSTEAD IS ABOUT ALL THE THINGS THEY DO GET RIGHT
WITH SIGN LANGUAGE, OR WITH THEIR SPECIAL WAY
OF UNDERSTANDING THE WORLD SPATIALLY, OR VISUALLY.

L. Scott Lissner
>> ONE OF THE THINGS THAT'S NICE ABOUT THE DISABILITY STUDIES PROGRAM IS IT COMPLEMENTS A LOT OF THE OTHER THINGS
THAT ARE GOING ON ON CAMPUS.
THEY PROVIDE INTERPRETERS IN CLASS.
THEY PROVIDE BRAILLE FOR BOOKS.
BUT ONE OF THE THINGS THE DISABILITIES STUDIES PROGRAM DOES
IS PROVIDE SOME BROADER VALIDATION
ON KIND OF A CULTURAL AND CLIMATE LEVEL
LIKE WOMEN'S STUDIES PROGRAMS DID FOR THE WOMEN'S MOVEMENT,
AND BLACK STUDIES PROGRAM DID FOR THE CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT.

Brueggemann:
ONE OF THE THINGS, PARTICULARLY, WHEN WE TALK ABOUT
UNIVERSITY CULTURE, COLLEGES, ACADEMIC CULTURE AS WELL,
WHY DISABILITY STUDIES IS IMPORTANT THERE --
AGAIN, NOT JUST BECAUSE OF WHAT IT CAN OFFER
AND ENRICH TO OTHER FIELDS OF STUDY, OTHER IDENTITY STUDIES,
BUT AGAIN, IT'S ABOUT HAVING THE STUDENTS.
LIKE AT OHIO STATE, IF WE HAVE A DISABILITY STUDIES PROGRAM,
IF WE BUILD IT, THEN STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES
ARE MORE LIKELY TO COME HERE.
I'D LIKE TO SEE US BE A MECCA.
BERKELEY'S A MECCA, OUT IN THE WEST,
AND WE DON'T HAVE A MECCA FOR THE MIDWEST.
SO, I'D LIKE TO SEE OHIO STATE HAVE A CALLING.

>>I'M BRENDA BRUEGGEMANN,
AND I'M PART OF WHAT MAKES OHIO STATE GREAT.

Related links:

Professor Brueggemann's homepage

Department of English at Ohio State

Office for Disability Services

ADA Coordinator's Office