Research Guides: Cross-Cultural Engagement in the Library: April-Deaf History Month

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NC Beginnings BEGINNINGS for Parents of Children who are Deaf or Hard of Hearing is a non-profit that helps parents and families understand hearing loss as well as the diverse needs of children who are deaf or hard of hearing.
NC DHHS: Services for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing
National Association for the Deaf

Articles of Interest

Beyond Islay: A Brief Literary History of Deaf Utopia and Dystopia The idea of a sign language town, or a Deaf utopia, where Deaf and signing people can come together to live in a geographical or figurative homeland has long persisted in US Deaf life, letters, and literature. In the wake of the Milan Congress of 1880, Alexander Graham Bell's alarming rhetoric concerning "a deaf mute variety of the human race" and the "campaign against sign language," the idea of a homeland, and a Deaf commonwealth took on additional resonance.
Assessing Black Deaf History: 1980s to the Present One of the challenges of gaining a broader appreciation of Deaf history is the need to examine the contributions of Deaf people of color. This article summarizes the contributions of black Deaf individuals to the scholarly and public history of the period from the 1980s to the present.
Deaf History Goes Public The authors offer their personal reflections on changes in public presentations of Deaf history that have occurred since the 1981 publication of Jack R. Gannon's Deaf Heritage: A Narrative History of Deaf America.
Cochlear Implants in Congenitally Deaf Children: A Discussion Built on Rights-Based Arguments The author discusses rights-based arguments for and against cochlear implants in congenitally deaf children and analyzes whether CIs should be required by law or left to parental discretion.
Primary health-care practices for deaf children should include early incorporation of a signed language For the optimal care of deaf and hard-of-hearing children, primary care pediatricians and family practitioners should consider signed language acquisition normal and healthy. Early acquisition of a signed language is a crucial part of primary multilingual treatment strategies for maximising development.

This Months Theme

Films and Videos

Lending a Hand: Sign Languages and the Deaf Complex and highly sophisticated, sign languages have proved excellent tools for analyzing the foundation of human language capability. In this program, Dr. Jonathan Miller weaves together the history of sign languages for the Deaf with insights into the natural synergy between language, vision, and dexterity to support his conviction that there is a common mental structure underlying all languages, regardless of their outward expression. Along the way, Dr. Miller skewers a number of enduring misconceptions—for example, that sign languages are purely iconic and therefore incapable of conveying abstract ideas. (47 minutes)
Signing Black in America This is the first documentary about Black ASL: the unique dialect of American Sign Language (ASL) that developed within historically segregated African American Deaf communities. Black ASL today conveys an identity and sense of belonging that mirrors spoken language varieties of the African American hearing community. The program highlights the different uses of space, hand use, directional movement, and facial expression, which are ways that Black ASL distinguishes itself as a vibrant dialect of American Sign Language. The African American Deaf community is now embracing their unique variety as a symbol of solidarity and a vital part of their identity.
Notations: A Composer's Response to Crisis In 1802, Beethoven faced the prospect of becoming deaf. But instead of causing defeat, that crisis triggered a season of transcendent creativity that changed the course of music history. In this program, pianist Mia Chung explores the innovations of Beethoven’s genius in the face of enormous obstacles as she performs, deconstructs, and discusses two of Beethoven’s most significant solo piano works: Piano Sonata no. 21 in C Major, op. 53 (“Waldstein”), composed in 1803-04, and Sonata no. 31 in A-flat Major, op. 110, composed in 1821. Ms. Chung has been called “uncommonly insightful, individualistic, lively” and “technically dazzling” by The New York Times. (2 hours 24 minutes)

See what I'm saying by Hilari Scarl A comic, a drummer, an actor and a singer, who are all well-known entertainers in the deaf community, are followed as they attempt to cross over to mainstream audiences. These uniquely talented entertainers overcome great challenges to celebrate success.
Call Number: HV 2359 .S44 2011
ISBN: 9781422910474
Publication Date: 2011

Books

Deaf Republic by Ilya Kaminsky Finalist for the National Book Award * Finalist for the PEN/Jean Stein Award * Finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award * Winner of the Los Angeles Times Book Prize * Winner of the Anisfield-Wolf Book Award * Winner of the National Jewish Book Award * Finalist for the Kingsley Tufts Poetry Award * Finalist for the T. S. Eliot Prize * Finalist for the Forward Prize for Best Collection Ilya Kaminsky's astonishing parable in poems asks us, What is silence? Deaf Republic opens in an occupied country in a time of political unrest. When soldiers breaking up a protest kill a deaf boy, Petya, the gunshot becomes the last thing the citizens hear--they all have gone deaf, and their dissent becomes coordinated by sign language. The story follows the private lives of townspeople encircled by public violence: a newly married couple, Alfonso and Sonya, expecting a child; the brash Momma Galya, instigating the insurgency from her puppet theater; and Galya's girls, heroically teaching signing by day and by night luring soldiers one by one to their deaths behind the curtain. At once a love story, an elegy, and an urgent plea, Ilya Kaminsky's long-awaited Deaf Republic confronts our time's vicious atrocities and our collective silence in the face of them.
Call Number: PS 3611 .A467 A6 2019
ISBN: 9781555978310
Publication Date: 2019-03-05
True Biz: Reese's Book Club by Sara Novic NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * REESE'S BOOK CLUB PICK * A "tender, beautiful and radiantly outraged" (The New York Times Book Review) novel that follows a year of seismic romantic, political, and familial shifts for a teacher and her students at a boarding school for the deaf, from the acclaimed author of Girl at War "For those who loved the Oscar-winning film CODA, a boarding school for deaf students is the setting for a kaleidoscope of experiences."--The Washington Post ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR: NPR, The Washington Post, Publishers Weekly, Booklist True biz (adj./exclamation; American Sign Language): really, seriously, definitely, real-talk True biz? The students at the River Valley School for the Deaf just want to hook up, pass their history finals, and have politicians, doctors, and their parents stop telling them what to do with their bodies. This revelatory novel plunges readers into the halls of a residential school for the deaf, where they'll meet Charlie, a rebellious transfer student who's never met another deaf person before; Austin, the school's golden boy, whose world is rocked when his baby sister is born hearing; and February, the hearing headmistress, a CODA (child of deaf adult(s)) who is fighting to keep her school open and her marriage intact, but might not be able to do both. As a series of crises both personal and political threaten to unravel each of them, Charlie, Austin, and February find their lives inextricable from one another--and changed forever. This is a story of sign language and lip-reading, disability and civil rights, isolation and injustice, first love and loss, and, above all, great persistence, daring, and joy. Absorbing and assured, idiosyncratic and relatable, this is an unforgettable journey into the Deaf community and a universal celebration of human connection.
Call Number: PS 3614 .O929 T78 2022
ISBN: 9780593241509
Publication Date: 2022-04-05
American Sign Language for Beginners by Rochelle Barlow A 30-day beginner's guide for learning American Sign Language There's an easy way to leap right in to learning American Sign Language (ASL). American Sign Language for Beginners delivers 30 days of lessons that will help you sign with those in your home, community, and classroom. From letters and numbers to essential vocabulary and grammar basics, this beginner's guide provides the essentials needed to develop a solid foundation for American Sign Language in the real world. Each daily lesson takes less than 30 minutes to complete and focuses on a single set of vocabulary or ASL grammar. Throughout the course, you'll find key phrases, helpful memory tips, signing practice activities, and insight into deaf culture. Start your ASL masterclass today. American Sign Language for Beginners includes: 30 Days of easy ASL--Start off right with an accelerated plan designed to help you begin signing in just one month. Easy-to-understand instructions--Lessons concentrate on a single idea or subject and include photographs to demonstrate signs. Everyday phrases--Daily instruction highlights vocabulary you're most likely to need as you explore ASL in your daily life. Jump-start your learning experience with American Sign Language for Beginners!
Call Number: HV 2474 .B375 2020
ISBN: 9781646116423
Publication Date: 2020-07-28
The Invention of Miracles by Katie Booth Finalist for the PEN/Jacqueline Bograd Weld Award for Biography Finalist for the Mark Lynton History Prize "Meticulously researched, crackling with insights, and rich in novelistic detail" (Steve Silberman), this "provocative, sensitive, beautifully written biography" (Sylvia Nasar) tells the true--and troubling--story of Alexander Graham Bell's quest to end deafness. "Researched and written through the Deaf perspective, this marvelously engaging history will have us rethinking the invention of the telephone." --Jaipreet Virdi, PhD, author of Hearing Happiness: Deafness Cures in History We think of Alexander Graham Bell as the inventor of the telephone, but that's not how he saw his own career. As the son of a deaf woman and, later, husband to another, his goal in life from adolescence was to teach deaf students to speak. Even his tinkering sprang from his teaching work; the telephone had its origins as a speech reading machine. The Invention of Miracles takes a "stirring" (The New York Times Book Review), "provocative" (The Boston Globe), "scrupulously researched" (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette) new look at an American icon, revealing the astonishing true genesis of the telephone and its connection to another, far more disturbing legacy of Bell's: his efforts to suppress American Sign Language. Weaving together a dazzling tale of innovation with a moving love story, the book offers a heartbreaking account of how a champion can become an adversary and an enthralling depiction of the deaf community's fight to reclaim a once-forbidden language. Katie Booth has been researching this story for more than fifteen years, poring over Bell's papers, Library of Congress archives, and the records of deaf schools around America. But she's also lived with this story for her entire life. Witnessing the damaging impact of Bell's legacy on her family would set her on a path that overturned everything she thought she knew about language, power, deafness, and the telephone.
Call Number: HV 2426 .B39 B66 2021
ISBN: 9781501167096
Publication Date: 2021-04-06
The Silence Between Us by Alison Gervais "The Silence Between Us is eminently un-put-down-able." (NPR) Schneider Family Book Award, Best Teen Honor Book 2020 "This is a great YA contemporary (clean) romance that follows Maya as she navigates a new school and plans for her future. The addition of representation by a Deaf character was really beautifully done. Highly recommend for people looking for a sweet, engaging, and educational romantic read." (YA and Kids Book Central) #OwnVoices YA novel features Deaf / Hard of Hearing Community "It's time we see more Deaf characters in books. It's time we see more books celebrating sign language and Deaf culture," said author Alison Gervais. Deaf teen Maya moves across the country and must attend a hearing school for the first time. As if that wasn't hard enough, she also has to adjust to the hearing culture, which she finds frustrating--and also surprising when some classmates, including Beau Watson, take time to learn ASL. As Maya looks past graduation and focuses on her future dreams, nothing, not even an unexpected romance, will not derail her pursuits. But when people in her life--Deaf and hearing alike--ask her to question parts of her Deaf identity, Maya stands proudly, never giving in to the idea that her Deafness is a disadvantage. The Silence Between Us: Features a Deaf protagonist and an #OwnVoices perspective on Deaf and Hard of Hearing culture Is a clean YA romance by Wattpad sensation Alison Gervais Is perfect for fans of Nicola Yoon and CeCe Bell
Call Number: PZ 7.1 .G47494 Si 2019
ISBN: 9780310766162
Publication Date: 2019-08-13

eBooks

Deaf Heritage by Jack R. Gannon
ISBN: 9781563685156
Publication Date: 2012
In Deaf Heritage: A Narrative History of Deaf America, Gannon brought together for the first time the story of the Deaf experience in America from a Deaf perspective. Recognizing the need to document the multifaceted history of this unique minority with its distinctive visual culture, he painstakingly gathered as much material as he could on Deaf American life.
Islay by Douglas Bullard
ISBN: 9781563685644
Publication Date: 2013
Now, a new edition of the classic novel Islay promises to entertain a contemporary audience with its Deaf American dream first conceived by Douglas Bullard in 1986. Islay is the name of an imaginary island state coveted by Lyson Sulla, a Deaf man who is tired of feeling that "hearing think deaf means dumb, pat head."
Turn on the Words! by Harry G. Lang; Ernest E. Hairston (Foreword by); Jason Stark (Afterword by)
ISBN: 9781944838850
Publication Date: 2021
The story of how captioning came into the lives of deaf and hard of hearing people has not been told with any detail, though captions are one of the greatest technological advancements in the effort to improve access to films, television, and other video content for both deaf and hearing audiences.
Young, Disabled and LGBT+ by Alex Toft (Editor); Anita Franklin (Editor)
ISBN: 9780429584046
Publication Date: 2020
This volume features original research and writing into lives that are often misunderstood, marginalized and under-represented in research. It is framed with artwork, poetry and writing from young disabled LGBT+ people, and centralizes the voices and lives of young disabled LGBT+ people throughout. Drawing from disciplines including: sociology, psychology, disability and youth studies, and with contributions from practitioners, it examines experiences and research from a number of perspectives, such as education, personal lives and activism.
Understanding Deaf Culture by Paddy Ladd
ISBN: 9781853595479
Publication Date: 2003
This book presents a 'Traveller's Guide' to Deaf Culture, starting from the premise that Deaf cultures have an important contribution to make to other academic disciplines, and human lives in general. Within and outside Deaf communities, there is a need for an account of the new concept of Deaf culture, which enables readers to assess its place alongside work on other minority cultures and multilingual discourses.