Upper Arlington Public Library

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An Introduction to American Sign Language and Deaf Culture

Staff from OSU's American Sign Language Program will discuss some common myths and misconceptions about ASL and Deafness, share a short history of ASL, and demonstrate some basic greetings and signs.

Speaker Bio:

Marshall Harris was born as the only Deaf child in a hearing family. He identifies as a Black Deaf American. He faced adversities during his childhood. He attended 13 different schools and he would often be the only deaf student there. Marshall navigated trials and tribulations while discovering his identity.

He first identified himself as hard of hearing because he was never exposed to the Deaf community growing up until he went to college at Gallaudet University. Marshall graduated from Gallaudet with a B.A. in Physical Education. Post graduation he wanted to give back to the Deaf community and began to work at Ohio School for the Deaf and many other Deaf organizations. Marshall is now a Guest Lecturer at The Ohio State University. He also works part time as a Deaf Interpreter. In his free time, he enjoys photography, listening to music, cooking, playing and watching sports, especially Darts!! He also enjoys traveling when he can. Marshall is the first in his family to do many things, including to graduate from college and to travel out of state.

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