Running head: COCHLEAR IMPLANT CONTROVERSY GENRE ANALYSIS 1

Cochlear Implant Controversy Genre Analysis

Briana Martinez
The University of Texas at El Paso













COCHLEAR IMPLANT CONTROVERSY GENRE ANALYSIS 2
With the technology that has progressed over the past years, many new medical
related advances have surfaced. One of these advances includes the cochlear implant for
people who are extremely deaf or severely hard of hearing. This implant is surgically
placed giving the patients the ability to hear. But what if not all deaf people want the
ability to hear? The Deaf community, written with a capital D to indicate deaf as a
culture rather than a hearing impairment, is very prideful of their deafness. They do not
see being deaf as a disability or an impediment to live normal lives. This is why the
cochlear implant causes conflict; the Deaf community believes that by receiving a
cochlear implant the person is ashamed of their culture and the way they were born.
Robert Sparrow (2005) does a good job of discussing this controversy in his article
Defending Deaf Culture: The Case of Cochlear Implants for The Journal of Political
Philosophy. This type of genre is typographic because it is an article from an academic
journal. Sometimes some people in the Deaf culture may think otherwise about cochlear
implant and feel like it will ultimately benefit them. One example of this is a testimonial
YouTube video called Karina: My Cochlear Implant Did Not Take Away the Deaf
Culture and Sign Language for the Cochlear Implant Online website. This type of genre
is iconography because it is a video. The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate and
compare how these two genres are informative and show a lot about the cochlear
implant and its controversy.
Both of these genres have the same purpose, to inform and raise awareness about
the cochlear implant and the Deaf culture. The purpose of Sparrows article is to inform
the audience about the ethical concerns the hearing impaired community has about
cochlear implant procedures. The video on the other hand is trying to show the audience
the changes a person with a cochlear implant experiences after receiving the implant
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and how they can still enjoy things from the Deaf culture. Although they are both
relating to the controversy, the video tries to prove the audiences that the recipients of a
cochlear implant can have the best of both worlds. Both of the genres may be discussing
the same topic and issue, but they both take a different approach. Regardless of these
differences in approach the audiences for both may be very similar, if not the same. I
think that the article is more effective in displaying its purpose because it is more
detailed and straightforward on what the author is talking about and why.
These two genres most likely have the same audience because of the topic they
are speaking of. This audience can include: audiologists, the Deaf community, parents of
children qualified for the cochlear implant, and those considering cochlear implants. As
mentioned, these genres were meant to inform and bring awareness about the cochlear
implant and the Deaf culture. Along with respecting the decisions of a deaf person
whether they chose to get the implant or not. The audience possibly knows the general
information on the cochlear implant and the basics of the controversy. For the article,
the audience may want to know more detailed information about the implant such as
logistics, the controversy it causes in the Deaf community, and more insight on the Deaf
culture. As far as the video goes, the audience may also want to know the changes of the
lifestyle after getting a cochlear implant, preferably from someone who has experienced
it. These to genres are accessible for the audience to read or watch because they are
informative and do not need much detailed knowledge on cochlear in order to
understand the genres. The audience will most likely spend about twenty to thirty
minutes reading the article, as it is easy to read and understand. The article is written in
a formal language because it is a scholarly journal, meaning it has proper grammar and
format in general. There are some technical words that Sparrow defines in order for the
COCHLEAR IMPLANT CONTROVERSY GENRE ANALYSIS 4
audience to be aware of the meaning of these words. For example, he has two models of
culture: the liberal model and the communitarian model. These are some models
that Sparrow explains that are the central focus of his paper. These models are well
explained by Sparrow in his article. The format of the article is professionally and
scholarly organized. Sparrow presents what he is going to discuss and also gives good
background information. The video is also very easy to interpret; it is three minutes and
forty-one seconds long and is extremely easy to understand what the girl, Karina, is
explaining in the video. She is talking in an informal manner but she is discussing her
experience as if she were talking to a friend. She uses proper English and is
grammatically correct possibly because she wants to be taken seriously. There is no
special vocabulary used in this video. Karina talks in a way that anyone can understand.
Karina uses sign language along with when she speaks, it could be because of habit
rather than to interpret because some of her signs are not completely visible for those
who are deaf to see. This could also be the indicator of the credibility, or ethos, of this
video.
Ethos, pathos, and logos, is really important depending on the genre of a topic.
Ethos establishes the credibility of the genre, pathos relates to the appeal to the
emotions of the audience, and logos is the logic of the genre. For example, ethos is
demonstrated in Sparrows article he presents himself on the first page of the article. He
states that he studies philosophy and bioethics at Monash University, this shows that he
is researching in this area. This article is also part of a scholarly journal for philosophy
therefore the information is credible. The author uses various reliable references that
help support his information. He gives these references at the bottom of each page.
COCHLEAR IMPLANT CONTROVERSY GENRE ANALYSIS 5
He shows pathos because he wants the audience to have awareness and acknowledge
the importance of acceptance for all decisions when it comes to the cochlear implant.
The article is written in a very informative manner in order for the audience to feel that
the information is reliable and that the author is not being biased. In the video, as
mentioned before, credibility is clearly indicated because Karina is a recipient of the
cochlear implant. Another way to display credibility is the fact that she is speaking in
sign language and this shows that she is really deaf. Also, the channel is created by a
website called CochlearImplantOnline.com which was created by a cochlear implant
recipient named Rachel Chaikof, this also proves that the people developing this website
and YouTube channel are speaking through personal experience. As far as pathos, the
emotions that the video is attempting to evoke are the sense of security and hope that
deaf people need about the cochlear implant and losing their connection with the Deaf
culture. The way that people speak in a certain genres is important because of the
audience they are trying to send their message to. This goes along with the structure and
delivery of the genre.
Structure and delivery is crucial to the genre, how their message is being sent,
and shows how the genre is organized and any possible limitations. For example,
Sparrow gives an introduction that briefly discusses the topic and what he will talk
about. He then gives background information on the cochlear implant and the Deaf
community and their culture and continues by discussing his models and ideas giving an
unbiased opinion on how people should approach the cochlear implant controversy.
This organization is helpful to the audience so that they are able to follow along with the
article. There are not too many limitations on the information because it is a scholarly
article. The author is able to discuss the information and research he wants to because
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he has no limitation on length, but there are limitations on the way he is allowed to
speak. It is expected for Sparrow to talk in a scholarly manner due to the fact that he is
writing for a scholarly article. In the video, Karina talks about herself and gives a brief
overview on her life as a deaf girl. She talks about her choice to get the cochlear implant
and talks about her life after the implantation. This is a good organization because she
discusses briefly about everything a person might want to know about her before and
after the implant. There are not any limitations in this genre because the person is
allowed to say anything he or she wants to share. There is no restriction on time or
content. Karina is able to talk about anything she feels is necessary to share therefore
she can share the main purpose of the video, explaining how her life didnt change in the
Deaf culture after the implant. Structure and delivery are truly important for the genre
and audiences of the genre.
Both of these genres give good example on how they can give informative content
even though they are completely different genres. They both have different approaches
but they both discuss the issue and correlate to the cochlear implant and its
controversies. They have their own way of sending out their message in the appropriate
manner for the genre. The different elements discussed in this paper are very important
for the way the message is portrayed to their audiences. I think that the video may have
been more effective in the sense of pathos because it is a real life example. But I feel that
the most effective genre would have to be Sparrows scholarly article, mainly because it
covers a lot of information that is useful to its audience and it was extremely credible. It
has great structure and was easy for its audience to follow along and understand the
information given. It is important to be aware of the genre you are writing about in
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order to write in an appropriate manner for that specific genre. This is useful for many
situations when writing.















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References
Cochlear implant. (2014, Jan 1). Karina: My Cochlear Implant Did Not Take
Away the Deaf Culture and Sign Language [Video file]. Retrieved from
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1k4e7EQHLRo
Sparrow, R. (2005). Defending deaf culture: The case of cochlear implants*.
Journal of Political Philosophy, 13(2), 135-152. doi:10.1111/j.1467-9760.2005.00217.x