Continuation of ASL 531. Expands on the groundwork and grammatical principles established in ASL I, II, and III. Introduces the sociolinguistic aspects of ASL as it functions within the deaf cultural context. Areas of investigation include use of formal versus informal sign register; sign variation by region, age, and gender; social factors that give rise to code switching; and political and cultural evolution of the U.S. deaf community. Taught in the target language using the direct experience method. Prereq: ASL 531 or program evaluation. Limited to 15 students. Lab.