American Deaf Research Articles

The Silent Film Era: Silent Films, NAD Films, and the Deaf Community's Response

Older citizens who are deaf or hard of hearing recall the years of silent films (1893–1929) as a "golden era" in the cultural history of the American Deaf community. It was golden for several reasons. First, this period represents the one brief time that deaf and hard of hearing citizens had comparatively equal access to motion pictures—a cultural and popular medium that the United States and Hollywood have exported to the rest of the world. The second reason this period was golden was that motion picture technology demonstrated a new tool for those deaf people who used sign language. Before the development of motion pictures, deaf people could depict sign language only in static forms of communication: text, drawings, and photographs. This was crucial because the era of silent films (1893–1929) happened at the same time as an intense campaign against sign language in America. One of the ways that the Deaf community challenged this assault on its language was through the use of motion picture technology. The third and final reason that older members of the Deaf community nostalgically view the silent film years as golden is the post–silent-film reaction: Amateur deaf filmmakers began to make sign-language entertainment films.

Deaf signers who know Japanese remember words and numbers more effectively than deaf signers who know English.

Deaf people have difficulty reading and remembering English script because of its sound-based orthography. Logographs (e.g., kanji, Arabic numerals) should not pose the same challenge because they are based on meaning, not sound. Little research has been conducted to test this theory's validity cross-culturally. The present study was an attempt to do just that. The first of two experiments tested immediate memory spans for word sequences of 20 hearing Irish, 20 prelingually deaf Americans, 20 hearing Japanese, and 20 prelingually deaf Japanese. For English words, deaf participants showed shorter memory spans than hearing participants, but memory spans were similar for deaf and hearing participants for words in kanji, the logographic system for Japanese writing. The second experiment tested memory span for Arabic numerals, with the same participants. Deaf English-readers showed shorter memory spans than their hearing counterparts, but deaf and hearing Japanese performed similarly.

Deaf Culture Prevails

In 1917, when a deaf Frenchman named Henri Gaillard toured the eastern United States and Ohio, he discovered a vibrant deaf community, alive with celebratory dinners, social gatherings, athletic clubs, fraternal associations, dances, religious groups, and service organizations. In a report he later wrote for his fellow deaf people in France, Gaillard bemoans the lack of wine in the United States and the inferior quality of American cuisine, but he glowingly describes the nation's deaf culture. He also depicts accomplished deaf individuals and praises the American deaf education system as the most successful in the world. Citing the nation's 157 schools and college for deaf students, which together had educated over 14,000 people, Gaillard challenges his readers, "Name one European country that can claim to have done as much" (29). At another point, after recounting how a hearing girl came up and fingerspelled to him, he observes, "It would seem that in America public education about the deaf is more successful than in France" (51). [End Page 198]

Deaf History and the U.S. Historical Narrative

Susan Burch's rich and well-researched chronicle of the U.S. Deaf community's efforts to claim and shape their full participation in public life between 1900 and 1942 reminds historians of the many forms debates have taken in U.S. history regarding how a proper citizen should look, act, and speak.In Signs of Resistance: American Deaf Cultural History, Burch makes clear the active and successful efforts of Deaf people to create a culturally unique community that advocated for the full legal, social, and financial citizenship of all deaf people. 1 This vigorous self-advocacy occurred despite, and ironically partially because of, the attacks on deafness and Deaf culture facilitated by larger trends in U.S. history such as eugenics and the related Americanization campaigns. Signs of Resistance is a welcome and well-researched addition to twentieth-century United States history that builds on the work of other historians and theorists of politics, disability, gender, race, education, and community.

Signs of resistance: American deaf cultural history, 1900 to World War II

1 The Irony of Acculturation2 Visibly Different: Sign Language and the Deaf Community3 The Extended Family: Associations of the Deaf4 Working Identities: Labor Issues 5 The Full Court Press: Legal Issues Conclusion: The Irony of Acculturation, Continued

Reviews of Books:Signs of Resistance: American Deaf Cultural History, 1900 to World War II Susan Burch

Reviews of Books:Signs of Resistance: American Deaf Cultural History, 1900 to World War II Susan Burch

<sc>Robert M. Buchanan</sc>. <italic>Illusions of Equality: Deaf Americans in School and Factory 1850–1950</italic>. Washington, D.C.: Gallaudet University Press. 1999. Pp. xvii, 214. $39.95

Journal Article Robert M. Buchanan. Illusions of Equality: Deaf Americans in School and Factory 1850–1950. Washington, D.C.: Gallaudet University Press. 1999. Pp. xvii, 214. $39.95 Get access Buchanan Robert M.. Illusions of Equality: Deaf Americans in School and Factory 1850–1950. Washington, D.C.: Gallaudet University Press. 1999. Pp. xvii, 214. $39.95. Barry A. Crouch Barry A. Crouch Gallaudet University Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar The American Historical Review, Volume 106, Issue 3, June 2001, Pages 998–999, https://doi.org/10.1086/ahr/106.3.998 Published: 01 June 2001

Illusions of Equality: Deaf Americans in School and Factory 1850-1950

Illusions of Equality: Deaf Americans in School and Factory 1850-1950

Illusions of Equality: Deaf Americans in School and Factory, 1850-1950

From the mid-1850s to the post-World War II era, Deaf Americans typically sought to deemphasize their identity as sign language users to be integrated better into the workforce. But in his absorbing book Illusions of Equality, Robert Buchanan shows that events during this period would thwart these efforts. The residential schools for deaf students in the 19th century stressed the use of American Sign Language while also recognizing the value of learning English. But the success of this system was disrupted by the rise of oralism, with its commitment to teaching deaf children speech and its ban of sign language. Buchanan depicts the consequences in sobering terms: most deaf students left school with limited educations and abilities that qualified them only for marginal jobs. He also describes the Deaf community's male hierarchy insistence through the end of World War II on individual responsibility, tactics that continually failed to earn job security for deaf workers. Illusions of Equality is an original, edifying work that will be appreciated for years to come.

Illusions of Equality: Deaf Americans in School and Factory 1850-1950. By Robert M. Buchanan (Washington, DC: Gallaudet University, 1999. xvii plus 214 pp. $39.95)

Journal Article Illusions of Equality: Deaf Americans in School and Factory 1850–1950. By Robert M. Buchanan (Washington, DC: Gallaudet University, 1999. xvii plus 214 pp. $39.95) Get access Douglas C. Baynton Douglas C. Baynton University of Iowa Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar Journal of Social History, Volume 34, Issue 2, Winter 2000, Pages 490–492, https://doi.org/10.1353/jsh.2000.0133 Published: 01 December 2000

Is There a Disability Culture? A Syncretisation of Three Possible World Views

Is there a disability culture? Or are disabled people simply individuals-or at best a socio/political minority group-striving to fit in to the dominant culture (whatever that is)? The author challenges Lois Bragg's contention that Deaf Culture exists, but not Disability Culture. The paper first traces historically the different conceptualisations of culture, beginning with E. B. Tylor's Primitive Cultures (1871) through to post-modern accounts by Kuper, Giroux and McLaren. Using a wide range of these concepts, three possible world views of disability culture are developed: Culture as Historical/Linguistic, Culture as Socio/Political, and Culture as Personal/Aesthetic. From these alternatives, a macro-sociological framework is set forth to evaluate each of these world views, as well as a set of ethical questions to consider in choosing which one might be most robust. The paper concludes with a proposal for a syncretized view of disability culture and asserts that the experience of disability culture is a thriving cross-cultural phenomenon which knows no national boundaries-and in particular, is not limited to Martha's Vineyard and American Deaf people.

Illusions of equality: deaf Americans in school and factory, 1850-1950

Illusions of equality: deaf Americans in school and factory, 1850-1950

Removing barriers and building bridges: American deaf interns teaching Chinese deaf children.

Two deaf American student-teaching M.A. candidates did an internship at a school for the Deaf in China. This was the first such internship ever done in China. Critical procedures for establishing international internships are described; cultural and educational experiences and the accommodations made to guarantee the success of such internships are analyzed, including issues related to communication modality, educational philosophy, expectations for deaf learners, and teaching methods. The views of both interns, and those of two teacher educators one American and one Chinese, are included.

Deaf American Jewish Culture in Historical Perspective

Cet article montre que la tradition conservatrice dans la politique juive americaine a reellement des racines historiques, culturelles et religieuses solides. Il cite le prophete Jeremie qui a fourni le premier enonce de philosophie politique juive de la diaspora. Les Juifs se sont le plus souvent mis sous la protection de la Couronne comme garant de leur securite, cela tout au long du Moyen Age mais deja du temps de la reine Esther. La presence de Juifs conservateurs aux Etats-Unis se retrouve depuis avant la Revolution americaine.

Lexidactylophobia: the (irrational) fear of fingerspelling.

Fingerspelling is a system of manually representing the graphemes of a spoken language used by members of Deaf communities worldwide. Yet, at least within the North American educational system, fingerspelling appears to be largely discounted in favor of sign usage, despite its high potential for linkage to the orthographical system of English and literacy development. The author describes fingerspelling in connection with how it is used within the American Deaf community, and also describes the development of fingerspelling skills in deaf (and hearing) children. He also describes how deaf adults use fingerspelling to promote literacy development in young deaf children. Strategies for increasing the use of fingerspelling by teachers and parents of the Deaf are outlined.

Letter to the Editor

Letter to the Editor Racelessness a Difficult Characterization Dear Editor: I would appreciate an opportunity to respond to a recent article in the American Annals of the Deaf, entitled, "The Association Between Racelessness and Achievement Among African American Deaf Adolescents" (Mosley-Hall, 1998). My initial reaction to the construct on which the study was based—"racelessness" per se—was disdain. I have read Fordham's (1990) original study of Black hearing teens and am familiar with Ogbu's theory (Ogbu & Simons, 1994) of minority status, the model on which racelessness is built. I agree with his assertions that African American students experience social pressures that inhibit their ability to engage in pro-school attitudes and behaviors because they (the attitudes and behaviors) are associated with the oppressor. However, it does not matter from which angle I view it, I find racelessness a difficult characterization to make of young people who are still undergoing the developmental process of racial identity formation (Tatum, 1998). The students being referred to may not have a solid racial identity and may not be aware of the full impact race has in this society, and to label them raceless is a rather strong indictment, particularly when the scale used to measure racelessness reflects such a narrow and stereotypical view of African American culture that its face validity is rather questionable. To accept such a view is feeding into the same negative stereotype which equates being smart with acting White. If we do not broaden our view of Black culture, then how do we expect our children to be able to do so? And to label children as "modern-day Uncle Toms" implies they are undermining the community simply by succeeding in school. What about the students who are racially aware enough to know that their history is filled with examples of Black high achievement so that succeeding in school is seen as their legacy and something they feel expected to do? Where do these students fit into the model—being neither raceless nor low achieving? Such a dichotomous line of thinking does almost as much damage as those in the school systems who devalue our children, disproportionately place them in lower academic or vocational tracks, administer culturally biased tests to our students, and expect low achievement from them. According to the racelessness model, none of these teacher variables is considered as contributing to the low academic performance of Black Deaf students. African American students, as measured by the raceless scale, are being judged by how closely they subscribe to stereotypic views of Black people. However, the teachers are not being judged on the extent to which they make judgments against the students who fit the stereotype. Are they seating them in the back of the room, calling on them less frequently, allowing them shorter time to answer questions , or providing less constructive feedback to their work? These teacher variables have a more direct causal relationship to student success (Hilliard, 1989). Although I subscribe to Delpit's (1993) view of recognizing the "power" of achievement and, in effect, teaching our children to adopt those behaviors necessary to achieve success (access power), we as professionals would be doing a disservice to the generation succeeding us if we do not fight to change the mind-set of others responsible for educating our children so that African American students expressing their cultural competence (in the way they dress, gesture, etc.) are not viewed as threatening or menacing by teachers (namely those of the dominant culture). We need to challenge the notions and behaviors they (teachers) bring into the classroom and how these notions and behaviors perpetuate the self-fulfilling prophecy instead of "blaming the victim"—i.e., Black Deaf adolescents who are in the midst of a major developmental transition period. Educators and parents are the ones who have to effect change. It is the responsibility of the adults to accommodate the needs of students, not the other way around. In addition, what would have been helpful to me in reading the article is a little more discussion on the development of a Deaf cultural identity and the effect that has on ethnic identity. The Aramburo (1989) study that was...

Why is learning American Sign Language a challenge?

In recent years there has been an explosion of interest in American Sign Language (ASL), the language used by Deaf Americans. As a result, an unprecedented number of schools and agencies now offer ASL classes. This welcome development signals growing awareness of and respect for the American Deaf community and ASL. Unfortunately, misconceptions persist about ASL. One major misconception is that it is an easily learned, picture-like language. This understanding is due partly to the fact that some of the first basic signs learned may be thought of as iconic (e.g., signs for eat, sleep, and drink). This even leads some new ASL learners to believe they can become instructors after one or two classes. This mistake is not made among people learning a spoken language. ASL is a complete and complex language, with all the nuances and subtleties of a spoken language. Like all languages, it is not mastered easily beyond a basic level. Mastery requires extensive exposure and practice. Presently, there is no consensus on where ASL might fall on a learnability continuum for native English speakers. Nonetheless, this article posits that learning ASL should be approached with respect and with the knowledge that mastery only occurs over a substantial period of time.

The People of the Eye

In 1947, the Journal of Southern History in its notes and documents section published a short essay on the establishment in 1815 of a school for deaf children in Virginia. Financed by a wealthy planter who had deaf offspring, classes were conducted by an Englishman trained in the oral method. This system schooled deaf youngsters in the fine art of lip-reading, speech, and the attributes of being part of the hearing world. The writer concluded that it had become generally recognized in recent times that the articulation method proved the best means of instructing the deaf.1 What Douglas C. Baynton (although he has not cited this article) has convincingly accomplished is to demonstrate this declaration is clearly nonsense. From perhaps the sixteenth century, a methods war raged between two groups of observers of the deaf over how deaf children should be taught: through the use of sign language known as manualism which created a unique deaf culture or by attempts to teach them to speak known as oralism which would eventually try to destroy deaf culture. This debate raged across Europe before it took center stage in the United States in the late nineteenth century.2 Germany and England cultivated oralism whereas France chose manualism and influenced the majority of American deaf schools established before the close of the Civil War. Although the first deaf educational effort in this country used oral instruction, the first permanent school, which originated in Connecticut, adopted manualism. Although Baynton says little about how instructors taught articulation, he should have, for it would have fortified his argument. From the eighteenth century onward, the instruction of deaf youngsters into the world of oralism was closely, secretly, and contractually safeguarded. The task was not inviting. In his sojourn in Virginia, John Braidwood (who was an alcoholic and basically a ne'er-do-well), suggested that deaf children were overly sick, which consequently retarded their educational progress. He described teaching oralism as drudgery and laborious. His uncle, Thomas, employed a

The association between racelessness and achievement among African American deaf adolescents.

Generally, deaf students do not achieve as well academically as their hearing peers. Within the deaf population, African American deaf students achieve less well academically than their White peers. There are, of course, both deaf and hearing African American students who excel in school. What then, are the factors that contribute to the accomplishments of successful African American deaf students in school? The present study explored the relationship of the construct of racelessness to school success among African American deaf adolescents. Data were collected on 32 deaf adolescents from six public schools. There was little support for racelessness as a robust construct in the present study. Although exceptions existed, there was no significant relationship between racelessness and achievement.

Linguistic aspects of metaphorical expressions of anger in ASL

The question of whether the American Deaf community possesses a separate culture or is merely a subcultural unit of American society has been a thorny and controversial issue for some time. Language, being a frequent symbol of ethnic identity, as well as a window onto cultural group thought, offers a means for determining the cultural or subcultural status of a group. Following Lakoff & Kovecses’ (1987) framework, one particular aspect of language, that of metaphorical expressions of anger in American Sign Language (ASL) is examined. This analysis finds the American Deaf to possess a pattern of cultural thought in this domain distinct from that of mainstream American society, suggesting that the American Deaf are an independent cultural unit which is simultaneously situated within the larger American society.