Author Virginia Heffernan, is making the case, “Against Headphones,” an article published in 2011 by The New York Times, which argues that headphones are not only creating a deaf generation but also an antisocial one. The article kicks off with citing shocking statistics about the growing percentage of hearing loss that seems to be plaguing the younger generation, this is followed by a brief overview on the history and original purpose of headphones. Heffernan explains the use of headphones and their place as an escapism, first used by men returning home after WWII who were no longer accustomed to the noise and commotion of daily life. The author then defines music as a social activity that has been impeded by the solitary act of using headphones and concludes that sound should be shared as this not only protects against hearing loss but creates social bonding. The essay is engaging and uses effective diction but falls short of an argument that is wholly convincing by lacking the opposing side and satisfying support.
Heffernan begins her article with strong credibility and use of logos to support her
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Heffernan is especially critical of “the intensely engineered frankensounds that hit our eardrums when we listen to iPhones,” and is sincerely surprised that it is, “still called music.” One such word the author uses to drive home her argument is “antisocial” and that the invention of headphones has caused a generation of Americans to reclusively cling to their music as opposed to playing it out of a boom-box. The appeal to pathos is not only strengthened but also heavily relied upon towards the end of the article as no more methods of logos appear. “[S]ounds [should] exist in their audio habitat more often,” Heffernan argues, “even if that means contending with interruptions and background
The book, ‘Alone in the Mainstream,’ is a collection of interviews spliced together thematically with parallels to the author 's life. It covers everything from Teachers, good and bad, to friends, bullies, classes and all other parts of growing up. The common theme gluing them all together is not solitude as the book states, but difference felt by the interviewee or the author. Several of the sections, namely the ones about great teachers and great friends, show that deaf people are not alone, but that their experience is vastly different.
...o account that much of the evidence is the author’s own works, that a bias is present. Darrow strongly believes in the integration of students with hearing loss into the music classroom. She does however point out opposing views and successfully dismantles them with strong and sound reasoning. One of the points Darrow makes is that many people believe that music is a “hearing value” and that the ability to make discriminations about what a person might hear is solely a function of hearing, when in reality it is actually a function of listening. “Listening is a mental process; hearing is a physical process,” states Darrow. The music learning environment is a great place for these students to develop their listening skills. “The development of good listening skills allows students with hearing losses to use their residual hearing to the maximum extent possible” (Darrow)
The ear thimble is like a cellphone and the seashell ear is similar to something like wireless headphones. These inventions interfere with personal relationships and seem to stimulate almost an absent presence. In this story Mildred is constantly plugged into her seashell ears. “and in her ears the little seashells, the thimble radius tamped right, and an electronics ocean or sound, of music, and talk and music, and talk coming in, coming in on the shore of her unsleeping mind” (12). Headphones and cell phones in our time constantly take away from communication and interaction. Headphones and cell phones also have become huge problems in our society in the classroom. “Technology is producing a decline in critical thinking and analysis” (http://gauravhardikar.com/tech_education/negative.html). As most people know those are two important factors in a classroom setting. Schools that have banned the use of technology have seen an increase in academic achievement in test
Two centuries ago, the Deaf community arose in American society as a linguistic minority. Members of this community share a particular human condition, hearing impairment. However, the use of American Sign Language, as their main means of communicating, and attendance to a residential school for people with deafness also determine their entry to this micro-culture. Despite the fact that Deaf activists argue that their community is essentially an ethnic group, Deaf culture is certainly different from any other cultures in the United States. Deaf-Americans cannot trace their ancestry back to a specific country, nor do Deaf neighborhoods exist predominantly throughout the nation. Additionally, more than ninety percent of deaf persons are born from hearing parents (Singleton and Tittle 222). Consequently, they often feel isolated from their families, as they do not even share the same language. Non-hearing children born into hearing families are more likely to attend a regular public school with typical peers, causing them to have little contact with other members from the Deaf community. Therefore, this community embraces a diverse group of individuals, who are surprisingly different from the rest of the members of their own families. This situation causes a cross-cultural conflict, which others believe needs fixing. Nevertheless, society should not perceive the Deaf community as a disability group but as a discrete linguistic minority, rich in history, values, and traditions.
Though some of the hearing community might take on an unknowingly negative approach on deafness due to a lack of knowledge, for those in the deaf community, their hearing loss is not a burden or a disability, but instead an important component of their identity and culture (Sanger-Katz). Many see being deaf as a positive attribute (Sanger-Katz). The motto belonging to the deaf community is “the deaf can do anything but hear” (“Deaf, not I...
... themes of individualism and alienation. The chief value of living with music lies in its power to give us an orientation in time. In doing so, it gives connotation to all those indefinable aspects of experience which nevertheless helps us make what we are.
...people making decisions for the deaf community. The past resulted in the strengthening of unity in the culture. “They claim the right to “personal diversity”, which is “something to be cherished rather than fixed and erased” (Tucker, 1997).
The Deaf community is a group that is made up of many different people, who all have different backgrounds both culturally and linguistically. Every single person in the Deaf community is unique, yet they share a common quality that brings them together. These people understand what it feels like to be labeled differently from the “norm” of society, to be discriminated against or misunderstood, sometimes even by their own families. Deaf people share a pride in the culture they share. This pride is something everyone could afford to learn from, as the Deaf community prides itself on its beautiful and expressive language, as well as the accomplishments of its members. This linguistic minority group is one that has bonded together over the physical difference that separates them from normal people, and that is their varying levels of hearing loss. “The traditional view of deaf people focuses only on what is not there” (TKH p.1) this quote from our textbook is a brief synopsis of how most of the hearing world views those who ca...
In the United States today, approximately 4500 children are born deaf each year, and numerous other individuals suffer injuries or illnesses that can cause partial or total loss of hearing, making them the largest “disability” segment in the country. Although, those in the medical field focus solely on the medical aspects of hearing loss and deafness, members of the deaf community find this unwarranted focus limiting and restrictive; because of its failure to adequately delineate the sociological aspects and implications of the deaf and their culture. Present day members of deaf culture reject classifications such as “deaf mute” or “deaf and dumb”, as marginalizing them because of their allusions to a presumed disability. (Edwards, 2012, p. 26-30)
"Values and Norms of the Deaf Community." College of the Canyons. College of the Canyons, n.d. Web. 30 Nov 2013.
In this book, we read of several different things about the deaf culture. One example is the dislike the deaf people have for cochlear implants being given to deaf children. As stated in our book, the reason why the deaf do not approve of cochlear implants being given to deaf children is because they feel the child should have the opportunity to decide whether they want to be hearing or deaf. Another part of the deaf culture that we learn about in “Train Go Sorry” is that the deaf are very social people. They enjoy being involved in many social events and love to talk with one another.
In the article, Heffernan uses the testimonial device to support her thesis. “As Llewellyn Hinkes-Jones put it not long ago in The Atlantic: “The shared experience of listening with others is not unlike the cultural rituals of communal eating. Music may not have the primal necessity of food, but it is
The deaf community does not see their hearing impairment as a disability but as a culture which includes a history of discrimination, racial prejudice, and segregation. According to an online transcript,“Through Deaf Eyes” (Weta and Florentine films/Hott productions Inc., 2007) there are thirty-five million Americans that are hard of hearing. Out of the thirty-five million an estimated 300,000 people are completely deaf. There are ninety percent of deaf people who have hearing parents (Halpern, C., 1996). Also, most deaf parents have hearing children. With this being the exemplification, deaf people communicate on a more intimate and significant level with hearing people all their lives. “Deaf people can be found in every ethnic group, every region, and every economic class” (Weta and Florentine films/Hott productions Inc., 2007). The deaf culture and hard of hearing have plenty of arguments and divisions with living in a hearing world without sound however, that absence will be a starting point of an identity within their culture as well as the hearing culture (Weta and Florentine films/Hott productions Inc., 2007).
When people hear the word “deaf” many times they think of their grandparents or other elders who have lost their ability to hear due to old age. However today for every 1,000 children, at least 1 is considered to be deaf or heard of hearing (Honig, 177.) Deafness is a disability that is easily overlooked and misunderstood because it is not a disability that is easily observed. Helen Keller once said that, “Blindness cuts people off from things. Deafness cuts people off from people.” When a person is blind or need glasses society easily recognizes that in some cases special accommodati...
"The Purpose of Music." EzineArticles Submission - Submit Your Best Quality Original Articles For Massive Exposure, Ezine Publishers Get 25 Free Article Reprints. Web. 23 Feb. 2010. .