InfoGuides: SOCI 240 Deaf Culture in America (Whyte): Assignment

Assignment

You need to find Deaf humor material (can be DeafBlind and other kinds of humor, particularly from marginalized groups). Some Deaf entertainers are Ben Bahan, CJ Jones, Banjamin Jarashow, Marybeth Miller, Chalb, Peter Cook, Gil Eastman, and Keith Wann (CODA).

There are also Black Deaf entertainers on social media. Check out the online videos "Deaf Folklore" and "Deaf Heritage". The Silent Worker magazine had columns on humor.

Check out Zap Humor and Bing Humor. Other videos: Daily Moth, Deaf Bing, AASD Project, and this TikTok posting. See examples of Deaf visual cartoon humor by That Deaf Guy. He also includes CODA humor is his cartoons.

Examples of "Deaf Bings"

Communication style: Being direct and blunt, rather than using roundabout language.

Accidental impacts: Animated hand gestures during signing can sometimes lead to accidentally hitting someone or knocking things over.

"Deaf gaps": Leaving a space in the car or a line to continue a conversation.

Water splashes: Splashing water to get attention when other methods aren't working.

Getting attention: Using physical cues like a shoulder tap, stomping on the floor, or waving in front of someone's face, since yelling is not effective.
Environmental adaptations: Squeezing through doorways with someone to maintain a conversation or pointing at food items over a partition.

You must cite academic/scholarly work and popular culture (magazines, social media, etc.) in APA format. You may also use “personal communication” as a source. This guide explains how to cite social media in APA style. This guide shows how to cite social media in MLA. You can format your citations using BibGuru, a free citation source.

Finding sources:

For scholarly work, use Google Scholar. Make sure your library settings point to RIT Libraries. Below are some examples of deaf humor (bing, comedy, jokes, wit, zap, folklore, laughter, humor). You can use Google or social media to find examples of YouTube videos or websites on Deaf humor. We also have DVDs and book chapters on deaf humor. These can be found using Summon, our library discovery tool, which will find books (also e-Books), articles, and videos. Some materials, like DVDs or books, may be off-site in building 99. You can request (watch short video) the materials by clicking on the request tab above the title in the catalog record. Here is a chart to review the differences between scholarly and popular works. If you need a book or article the library doesn't have, you can request it for free through Interlibrary Loan.

Here are examples of journal articles or theses.
Bertone, C. P. (n.d.). Deaf humor: A theater performance in Italian Sign Language. Unive.It. Retrieved March 30, 2025, from https://unitesi.unive.it/retrieve/8985b2e9-b809-4aa6-81a4-e158351d36ca/845036-1182277.pdf (can translate from Italian to English using Google Translation). We have the Pa Pa DVD she references.

Cancio-Bello, E. (2015). The sources of Deaf humor: An exploration of the reasons Deaf Humor differs from that of hearing people.Swarthmore College. Retrieved October 26, 2025, from https://scholarship.tricolib.brynmawr.edu/bitstream/handle/10066/16212/Cancio-Bello_thesis_2015.pdf%3Fsequence%3D1

Hall, S.A. (1991). Door into Deaf culture: Folklore in an American Deaf social club. Sign Language Studies, 73, 421-429.

Klima, E., & Bellugi, U. (1975). Wit and poetry in American Sign Language. Sign Language Studies, 8 , 203– 224.

Luckner, J. L., & Yarger, C. C. (1997). What’s so funny? A comparison of students who are deaf or hard of hearing and hearing students’ appreciation of cartoons. American Annals of the Deaf, 142(5), 373–378.

Marshall, J. (2025, January 29). Deaf humour explained: A comparative analysis of deaf humour and mainstream comedy within social and cultural contexts. LinkedIn. https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/deaf-humour-explained-joanne-marshall-pdemc/

Perez, E., & Klimkova, S. (2016). Linguistic and cultural determinacy of Deaf humour. XLinguae, 9(4), 108–115.

Peregrino, G. and Silva, A. (2019). Interculturalidade em “that deaf guy”: uso de tiras para problematização de estereótipos e preconceitos contra sujeitos surdos e sua língua de sinais. Revista Contexto & Educação, 34(109), 134-149. https://doi.org/10.21527/2179-1309.2019.109.134-149 (can translate into English using Google Translate). INTERCULTURALITY IN “THAT DEAF GUY”: USE OF STRIPS TO PROBLEMATIZE STEREOTYPES AND PREJUDICES AGAINST DEAF INDIVIDUALS AND THEIR SIGN LANGUAGE

Rutherford, S. D. (1983). Funny in deaf. Not in hearing. The Journal of American Folk-Lore, 96(381), 310-322.

Sutton-Spence, R., & Napoli, D. J. (2012). Deaf jokes and sign language humor. Humor - International Journal of Humor Research, 25(3), 311-337.

Willoughby, L., Manns, H., Iwasaki, S., & Bartlett, M. (2019). Are you trying to be funny? Communicating humour in deafblind conversations. Discourse Studies, 21(5), 584–602.

Websites or YouTube Examples
Bezuidenhout, N., & Naude, K. (n.d.). The silent symphony of laughter: Exploring the vibrant world of deaf humour. Deafinition. Retrieved March 30, 2025, from https://www.deafinition.co.za/the-silent-symphony-of-laughter-exploring-the-vibrant-world-of-deaf-humour/

California School for the Deaf-Riverside [@CSDRiverside]. (n.d.). Deaf humor. Youtube. Retrieved March 30, 2025, from http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLUtPX41w8VhgFlDPPSzfydT_5A1MsW3Fk

Cicada Sign. (2024, September 25). Deaf jokes: Humor in sign language you need to see! Cicada Sign. https://cicadasign.com/deaf-jokes-humor-in-sign-language-you-need-to-see/

Deaf Association of New Zealand. (2007). Sign of the times [Video recording]: New Zealand 3rd Deaf short film competition, 2007. Auckland, New Zealand: Deaf Association of New Zealand. One skit is about a bionic hand implant for hearing people. This is in our archives, I can request digitization if interested.

Deaf humor: The unique side of Deaf comedy and jokes. (2024, May 20). DeafWebsites. https://deafwebsites.com/deaf-humor-the-unique-side-of-deaf-comedy-and-jokes/

“Deaf Jokes” American Sign Language (ASL). (n.d.). Lifeprint.com. Retrieved March 30, 2025, from https://www.lifeprint.com/asl101/pages-layout/jokes.htm

Ellington, D. [@VS1ShortFilm]. (n.d.). A deaf person’s guide to the sound sensitive (2004). Youtube. Retrieved March 30, 2025, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=61D0Zl0Jq9k&ab_channel=DavidEllington

Humor and jokes in sign language and Deaf Culture. (2017, July 6). Handspeak.com. https://www.handspeak.com/learn/355/

Over 50 of the best deaf jokes. (2010, October 1). Start ASL | Learn American Sign Language with Our Complete 4-Level Course!; StartASL. https://www.startasl.com/deaf-jokes/

Wann, K. [@KeithWannASL]. (n.d.). ASL Comedy Tour - hosted by Keith Wann, featuring Peter Cook and Crom Saunders. Youtube. Retrieved March 30, 2025, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jCKpiiDo4-Q&ab_channel=KeithWann

DVD Examples. If a DVD is off-site, you can use the request tab to have it delivered to the Library Services Desk for pick-up within a day or two.

ASL practice series. 6H. ASL funny bones. (2006). [DVD]. American Sign Language Productions.

Caia, G. (2010). Pa Pa [DVD]. Compagnia Teatrale Uccello/DeafMedia.

The CODA Brothers (2008). Laugh.Learn.Sign. [DVD]. CODA Brothers.

Jones, C.J. (2006). What are you-- deaf? [DVD]. Sign World TV.

Live at SMI: Bill Ennis. (2002 [1994]). [DVD]. Sign Media.

Live at SMI: Mary Beth Miller. (2002 [1994]). [DVD]. Sign Media.

Stratiy, A. P. (1999). You think Deaf people have problems? [DVD]. Deaf Utopia.

Wann, K. (2007). Watching two worlds collide. [DVD]. Keith Wann.