Community Conversation: The Deaf Community – updated and expanded Fall 2008
The resources listed here aren't exhaustive, but cover many of the important issues in the d/Deaf
community.
Chorost, Michael. Rebuilt: My Journey Back to the Hearing World. 2006. [Available from
Summit]
From Publishers Weekly: Chorost had been severely hearing impaired since birth when, one morning
in 2001, his remaining hearing suddenly and inexplicably shut down. Fortunately for Chorost,
cochlear implants have progressed to the point where people formerly isolated from everyday sounds
can hear leaves rustle as they walk through them. A tiny device, the technological equivalent of a 286
computer, was surgically implanted behind the author's left ear. …. As Chorost makes clear, his
hearing wasn't restored; it was replaced. His body is now part "machine." The implant was only the
first step of the author's learning to hear again, as his brain struggled to interpret the new electrical
signals it was receiving.…He recounts with candor and humor his struggles with relationships, both
casual and intimate. Readers will find much food for thought on the implications of medical
technology and what constitutes our humanity in this beautifully written debut.
Cohen, Leah Hager. Train Go Sorry: Inside a Deaf World. 2001. [Available from Summit]
From Publishers Weekly: Combining memoir and reportage, Cohen provides a sensitive, intimate
portrait of a New York City school for the deaf and the issues facing the deaf community. Cohen is
not deaf, but her father heads the Lexington School, and she grew up there. She tracks the progress
of two students: Sofia, a Russian immigrant bravely learning a second sign language and a new
American world; and ghetto-raised James, who finds stability after moving into the school dormitory.
Cohen analyzes the fierce debates over mainstreaming the deaf, the value of oralism and whether
new cochlear implants rob the deaf of their culture.….She portrays sign language with wonderfully
tactile prose--the word "silence," for example, is signed with "austere arcs." If Cohen's narrative is
disjointed, her commitment and her descriptive gifts make her book memorable.
Deaf Studies Think Tank. Open your eyes : deaf studies talking. 2008. [Knight Library HV2380
.D43 2002]
Ladd, Paddy. Understanding deaf culture : in search of deafhood. 2003. [in process for Knight
Library]
Lane, Harlan. When the Mind Hears: A History of the Deaf. 1999. [Knight Library HV2530.L36
1984]
from No Sign of Education. Reviewed by: John V. Van Cleve. History of Education Quarterly,
(Winter, 1985), pp. 499-506. ...The history of deaf education, indeed the whole field of deaf history,
has been almost untouched by historians in modern times. There is no comprehensive secondary
literature, no accepted paradigms, almost no recognition by historians that this is a legitimate subject
for study. A few broad studies have appeared in the last ten years, and all are useful introductions to
the subject, but only introduction. Lane's books provide a paradigm, raise important issues, and show
a refreshing breadth of research, albeit mainly in printed, nonarchival, sources....Lane makes no
pretense of neutrality as he traces this back and forth struggle between the oralists, whom he argues
eventually won a complete victory, and the signers. Lane is on the side of Clerc and most deaf people
who believe, and have believed, that the foundation of education for deaf children should be sign
language....
Lang, Harry G. A phone of our own : the deaf insurrection against Ma Bell. 2000. [Knight Library
HE8846.A55 L35 2000]
Moore, Matthew S. and Linda Levitan. For Hearing People Only. 1993. [Knight Library HV2545
.M66 1993]
Padden, Carol and Tom Humphries.
Deaf in America: Voices from a Culture. 1990. [Knight Library HV2545.P33 1988]
Amazon.com Editorial Reviews: Washington Post : To be deaf, it seems obvious, must be to live in a
world of silence. That, say the authors of Deaf in America, is where most people get it
wrong...[Padden and Humphries] challenge their readers to imagine a world, one with a "different
center"--one in which ability or inability to hear is not at the core. The thing that links it all together is
sign language, which Deaf in America contemplates, illustrates, and celebrates. --Paul Berg
Inside Deaf Culture. 2006. [Knight Library HV2545 .P35 2005]
Amazon.com Editorial Reviews:New England Journal of Medicine : This well-organized and clearly
written book provides a fascinating inside look at the development of Deaf culture...Padden and
Humphries's presentation of these marvelous insights into the history and development of the
language and beliefs of the Deaf should be viewed as a welcome step in the quest to inform the
hearing world of the rich and fertile culture of the authors' beloved community. --Susan Waltzman
Sacks, Oliver. Seeing Voices. 1989. [Knight Library HV2370 .S23 1989]
from Library Journal: ...In this work, Sacks explores all facets of the deaf world--he meets with deaf
people and their families and visits schools for the deaf, spending a good deal of time at Gallaudet
University. As he writes, "I had now to see them in a new, 'ethnic light,' as people with a distinctive
language, sensibility, and culture of their own." The work is divided into three broad sections,
throughout which there are numerous, somewhat distracting footnote "excursions." …[T]here is a
wealth of insight and information here.... - Debra Berlanstein,
Spradley, Thomas and James Spradley. Deaf Like Me. 1985. [Knight Library has 1978 edition.
HV2380 .S67]
from Gallaudet University Press: Deaf Like Me is the moving account of parents coming to terms with
their baby girl’s profound deafness. The love, hope, and anxieties of all hearing parents of deaf
children are expressed here with power and simplicity. In the epilogue, Lynn Spradley as a teenager
reflects upon being deaf, her education, her struggle to communicate, and the discovery that she was
the focus of her father’s and uncle’s book. A book at once moving and inspiring….
Swiller, Josh. The Unheard: A Memoir of Deafness and Africa. 2007.
From Publishers Weekly: Although doctors diagnosed Swiller's deafness early enough to fit him with
hearing aids, …[he] still felt different. As a young adult he drifted from college to college, job to job,
relationship to relationship, never quite finding what he was looking for: a place beyond deafness. He
found that place in the mid-1990s, when the Peace Corps posted him to a remote corner of Zambia.
During his two-year stint working in a run-down health clinic in a rural village, he fought for irrigation
projects and better AIDS facilities. He befriended a young local who played chess and provided
constant counsel in the ways the young white American could—and did—run afoul of local tribesmen
(and women) and their age-old ways. Deafness would have provided a unique sensory filter for
anyone, yet while Swiller may have his particular aural capabilities, he also has literary talents—an
eye, a voice and a narrative talent—in abundance….
Videos (movies and documentaries): (in alphabetical order by movie title)
Beyond Silence (1998) Director: Caroline Link - In Knight library Video collection DVD 02846
Amazon.com Editorial Reviews: …[A] young woman's battle for independence and her deaf parents'
struggle to understand her gift for music. Given a clarinet by her … aunt, Lara is immediately
consumed by a new passion her parents cannot begin to fully comprehend. Determined to follow her
dreams, Lara's ongoing pursuit of music creates an ever-widening rift that eventually threatens to tear
apart her once close-knit family. …
Children of a Lesser God (1986) Starring: William Hurt, Marlee Matlin Director: Randa Haines [In
Knight Library video collection]
Amazon.com Editorial Reviews: Mark Medoff's tough play about deafness is sweetened and
softened in this 1986 film adaptation…. William Hurt plays a teacher newly hired at a school for deaf
children, and Marlee Matlin is the deaf and withdrawn janitor who captures his attention. Romantic
and heartfelt, the film makes its audience care very much about its two leading characters, and wince
when Hurt's well-meaning instructor allows Matlin's handicap to become a problem…. --Tom Keogh
Hear and Now (2007) Director: Irene Taylor Brodsky.
From IMDB.com: In this deeply personal memoir, filmmaker Irene Taylor Brodsky documents her
deaf parents' complex decision to leave their world of silence and undergo a dangerous surgery to get
cochlear implants -- the only one of its kind that can restore a sense. At the age of 65, Paul and Sally
Taylor decided they wanted to hear their first symphonies, hear their children's' voices, and talk on
the phone. How will this operation transform them, their relationship with each other, and the deaf
world they might leave behind? This is a story of two people taking a journey from silence to sound.
The question is, what will they make of it, and what might they gain -- or lose -- forever? - Irene Taylor
Brodsky
Sound and Fury (2000) Director: Josh Aronson - In Knight library Video collection DVD 02587
Amazon.com Editorial Reviews: … a compelling and often devastating documentary…. Two
brothers, one deaf and one hearing, grapple with a decision concerning their deaf children, and the
debate that rages through the extended family turns less on technology and medical concerns than
social politics and culture. The deaf parents of a school-age girl fear what the [cochlear] implant
would do to her unique identity, while the hearing parents of a toddler see no question at all. Aronson
gives all sides their say, but ultimately the increasingly angry arguments reveal prejudices and fears
from both sides and split the once-harmonious family, much like they have split hearing and deaf
communities across the country. --Sean Axmaker
Sound and Fury Six Years Later
http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/70896370?tab=holdings
Sweet Nothing in my ear (2008) - in process for Knight Library Video collection.
From box: Dan Miller and his wife Laura only want what's best for their happy and healthy eight-yearold son Adam who's been deaf since age four. Laura, who is deaf, opposes the surgery, an implant.
Dan, who is hearing, misses talking and listening to his son. This is a devoted family facing a moment
of truth. Together or apart, Dan and Laura must make a life-altering decision on behalf of their son.
Through Deaf Eyes (2007) Director: Diane Garey, Lawrence R. Hott - In Knight library Video
collection DVD 02846
From Amazon.com reader review: As a deaf person and an instructor of American Sign Language
and Deaf Culture/History, I heartily recommend this as a nicely-done glimpse into the huge breadth of
American Deaf History. All the highlights are here: Thomas Gallaudet and Laurent Clerc, Gallaudet
College/University, A.G. Bell, Milan Conference, oralism, cochlear implants, etc... - Chris (Centerville,
Utah
Electronic resources: (in alphabetical order by website title)
Alexander Graham Bell Association for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing
http://www.agbell.org/DesktopDefault.aspx
From their website: “...helps families, health care providers and education professionals understand
childhood hearing loss and the importance of early diagnosis and intervention. Through advocacy,
education, research and financial aid, AG Bell helps to ensure that every child and adult with hearing
loss has the opportunity to listen, talk and thrive in mainstream society. With chapters located in the
United States and a network of international affiliates, AG Bell supports its mission: Advocating
Independence through Listening and Talking!”
American Sign Language Browser - Online ASL dictionary
http://commtechlab.msu.edu/sites/aslweb/browser.htm
Deaf Read - A feed of the "BEST DEAF BLOGS AND VLOGS"
http://www.deafread.com/
D-PAN
http://www.d-pan.com/From their website: “D-PAN exists to bridge the existing gaps between the
deaf/hard of hearing community, the entertainment industry, and the public at large. We create the
content, support infrastructure, communications media and distribution channels necessary to
effectively cross these barriers.”
National Association of the Deaf
http://www.nad.org/
From their website: The National Association of the Deaf (NAD), established in 1880, is the oldest
and largest constituency organization safeguarding the accessibility and civil rights of 28 million deaf
and hard of hearing Americans in education, employment, health care, and
telecommunications....Programs and activities include grassroots advocacy and empowerment,
captioned media, certification of American Sign Language professionals; certification of sign language
interpreters; deafness-related information and publications, legal assistance, policy development and
research, public awareness, and youth leadership development.
Hands and Voices
http://www.handsandvoices.org/
Hands & Voices is a nationwide non-profit organization dedicated to supporting families and their
children who are deaf or hard of hearing, as well as the professionals who serve them. We are a
parent-driven, parent/professional collaborative group that is unbiased towards communication
modes and methods. Our diverse membership includes those who are deaf, hard of hearing, and
hearing impaired and their families who communicate orally, with signs, cue, and/or combined
methods. We exist to help our children reach their highest potential.