American Sign Language (ASL)

his volume tracks the changes in education and the social world of deaf people through the years. Topics covered include the attitudes toward the deaf in Europe and America, the evolution of communication and language and increasing influence of education. Of particular interest is the way in which deafness has been increasingly humanized, rather than medicalized or pathologized.

Features a diverse group of native ASL signers demonstrating how to form each of the 3,000 signs. Fully searchable, users can view a sign and quickly go to its synonyms.

Van Cleve, who taught history at Gallaudet U. (Washington, DC), the only liberal arts college for the deaf and hard of hearing, introduces nine illustrated essays that challenge stereotypes by former students and others associated with the deaf community. They provide historical perspectives on deaf identity and education in the US, and call for broader scholarship on issues of importance to the deaf community.

In 1976, Trent Batson and Eugene Bergman's anthology "Angels and Outcasts" brought deaf characters to the forefront of literature. This collection featured works by both celebrated authors and lesser-known deaf writers themselves. Edna Sayers' new anthology, "Outcasts and Angels," builds upon this foundation. Sayers' work reflects a significant shift in how deaf characters are portrayed. She expands the scope by including works from a wider range of periods and introduces new deaf voices to the conversation, enriching the collection.

"Deaf American Prose, 1980–2010," edited by Kristen Harmon and Jennifer Nelson, is a collection of works by Deaf American writers published between 1980 and 2010. It features a wide range of genres, including stories, essays, memoirs, and novel excerpts.

Leo Jacobs has written a unique and personal account of what it is like to be deaf in a hearing world. He speaks out on such issues as mainstreaming and its effect on deaf children and the Deaf community, total communication versus oralism, employment opportunities, and public policy toward deaf people. This new edition includes an update of services by and for deaf people and an expanded chapter on legislation and social issues that have had an impact on the Deaf community in the last ten years.

Maxine Childress Brown's story centers around her deaf parents who overcame many obstacles. Despite racial segregation and deafness, they built a middle-class life in Washington D.C.

Portrays the lives and relationships of Helen Keller and Anne Sullivan Macy from the 1860s and Anne Sullivan's childhood in an almshouse, through the decades of international fame, to Helen's death in 1968.

Carol Padden and Tom Humphries show how the nineteenth-century schools for the deaf, with their denigration of sign language and their insistence on oralist teaching, shaped the lives of Deaf people for generations to come. They describe how Deaf culture and art thrived in mid-twentieth century Deaf clubs and Deaf theater, and they profile controversial contemporary technologies.