As with the specialized study of most ethnic and disenfranchised groups, the RIT Deaf Cultural Studies program approaches the field from a cultural perspective. For disenfranchised groups, this means one must study their culture in relation to the more general cultural context. Courses in literary and artistic expressions of members of these groups, for example, must be analyzed in light of the broader context of the experiences of oppression and resistance.

The field of cultural studies focuses on how meaning is created and shared via the power of cultural institutions and values as they impact the formation of identities, social roles, and expectations. Cultural studies allows us to examine our social constructions of reality and question subsequent inequalities. In particular, the field of Deaf Cultural Studies crosses many disciplines and includes American Sign Language as a core construct. The Deaf Cultural Studies minor provides a unique opportunity for RIT students to pursue and critically analyze integrated scholarly studies related to the historical, anthropological, psychosocial, linguistic, artistic, literary, legal/political and multicultural elements of the Deaf experience. The minor provides students with opportunities to critically examine social and cultural constructions, especially as they impact individuals and social groups. As a result of analyzing such constructs and related ideas such as privilege and silence, students may be empowered as agents of social change.

The RIT Deaf Cultural Studies program employs a cultural studies framework in which to examine the Deaf experience and social / cultural constructs. As such, the program does not view deafness as a pathology or disability. In addition to studying Deaf culture, students will develop critical consciousness of power-relationships and social justice, as well as an understanding of individual and social identity with specific reference to the Deaf experience. Focusing on the Deaf experience, students will study how meaning is created and shared via the power of cultural institutions and values and how institutions and values impact the formation of identities, social roles, and expectations.