Table of Contents

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

Promotional Information

The author demonstrates that in 19th and 20th centuries and contrary to popular belief, the Deaf community defended its use of sign language as a distinctive form of communication, thus forming a collective Deaf consciousness, identity, and political organization.

About the Author

Susan Burch is Associate Professor of History at Gallaudet University in Washington, D.C.

Reviews

"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." --Reviews in American History "Burch offers insightful comparisons. Her book is important to the fields of Deaf studies and disability studies, but it will appeal to social historians as well." --Journal of American History "Forcefully and gracefully narrates Deaf people's dramatic struggle against hearing oppression in the early twentieth century. Incorporating new data from archival research and community interviews, Burch applies tools of social analysis to challenge earlier interpretations that underestimated Deaf people's success in preserving their core values. The resulting study is fascinating and important to students of American social history and disability." --John Van Cleve, Gallaudet University