Uploaded August 2022 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Hill, Joseph C., Isakson, Su Kyong, & Nakahara, Christine. (2022). Response: Infusing Social Justice in Interpreting Education. In Laurie Swabey & Rachel E. Herring (Eds.), SIGNED LANGUAGE INTERPRETING PEDAGOGY: INSIGHTS AND INNOVATIONS FROM THE CONFERENCE OF INTERPRETER TRAINERS (pp. 394-407). Gallaudet University Press.
https://gupress.gallaudet.edu/Books/S/Signed-Language-Interpreting-Pedagogy
****This video may not be repurposed or incorporated into other works in any way without the express written consent of the signer and the chapter authors.****
In 2015, the RID conference held in New Orleans passed the motion to add a new continuing education unit (CEU) requirement for RID-certified interpreters: Power, Privilege, and Oppression (PPO). The motion took years in the process with the increased recognition of inequities and insults experienced by minoritized consumers and interpreters. But it was narrowly passed with 64% of the voting members.
Those who resisted expressed two reasons: feeling overburdened with CEU requirements and the interpreting profession lacking training resources on diversity and social justice. For those who supported it, they had various reasons for it, but the common reason is this: the interpreting profession is predominantly white, hearing, and able-bodied women and the percentages of interpreters of color, Deaf interpreters, Deaf-parented interpreters, and trilingual interpreters are low. What contributes to the low percentages of interpreters and students of color as well as other minoritized groups are the oppressive experiences they have in the profession: microaggression, insults, isolation, and lack of opportunity. Their experiences are the reason we need to have this CEU requirement: Power, Privilege, and Oppression. This will help us build the foundation of social justice education in the interpreting profession.
The goals of social justice education are to empower people to take responsibility for social justice, create a brave space for dialogue, and take a critical analysis of power and system of oppression. When teachers are the proponents of social justice pedagogy, they are viewed as social agents of change who directly address inequalities and go beyond the discussion of diversity to focus on social justice issues. National Consortium of Interpreter Education Centers (NCIEC) has a social justice infusion curriculum module that readily provides roughly nine hours of materials and activities and a set of guidelines that instructors can follow and explore different ways to engage people in a brave space by discussing issues of injustice. With the social justice education foundation, we can prepare for additional training on diversity and PPO, providing appropriate service for the growing population of atypical signers, and the implementation of service learning related to social justice.
Understanding social justice must go beyond the memorization of social justice terms and concepts. This framework should work towards developing critical thinking skills, practicing cultural humility, and embracing intersectionality.
Hill, Joseph C., Isakson, Su Kyong, & Nakahara, Christine. (2022). Response: Infusing Social Justice in Interpreting Education. In Laurie Swabey & Rachel E. Herring (Eds.), SIGNED LANGUAGE INTERPRETING PEDAGOGY: INSIGHTS AND INNOVATIONS FROM THE CONFERENCE OF INTERPRETER TRAINERS (pp. 394-407). Gallaudet University Press.
https://gupress.gallaudet.edu/Books/S/Signed-Language-Interpreting-Pedagogy
****This video may not be repurposed or incorporated into other works in any way without the express written consent of the signer and the chapter authors.****
In 2015, the RID conference held in New Orleans passed the motion to add a new continuing education unit (CEU) requirement for RID-certified interpreters: Power, Privilege, and Oppression (PPO). The motion took years in the process with the increased recognition of inequities and insults experienced by minoritized consumers and interpreters. But it was narrowly passed with 64% of the voting members.
Those who resisted expressed two reasons: feeling overburdened with CEU requirements and the interpreting profession lacking training resources on diversity and social justice. For those who supported it, they had various reasons for it, but the common reason is this: the interpreting profession is predominantly white, hearing, and able-bodied women and the percentages of interpreters of color, Deaf interpreters, Deaf-parented interpreters, and trilingual interpreters are low. What contributes to the low percentages of interpreters and students of color as well as other minoritized groups are the oppressive experiences they have in the profession: microaggression, insults, isolation, and lack of opportunity. Their experiences are the reason we need to have this CEU requirement: Power, Privilege, and Oppression. This will help us build the foundation of social justice education in the interpreting profession.
The goals of social justice education are to empower people to take responsibility for social justice, create a brave space for dialogue, and take a critical analysis of power and system of oppression. When teachers are the proponents of social justice pedagogy, they are viewed as social agents of change who directly address inequalities and go beyond the discussion of diversity to focus on social justice issues. National Consortium of Interpreter Education Centers (NCIEC) has a social justice infusion curriculum module that readily provides roughly nine hours of materials and activities and a set of guidelines that instructors can follow and explore different ways to engage people in a brave space by discussing issues of injustice. With the social justice education foundation, we can prepare for additional training on diversity and PPO, providing appropriate service for the growing population of atypical signers, and the implementation of service learning related to social justice.
Understanding social justice must go beyond the memorization of social justice terms and concepts. This framework should work towards developing critical thinking skills, practicing cultural humility, and embracing intersectionality.
