Certificate in Deaf History

This course will introduce students to the history of the American Deaf community. While recent studies in social history have challenged our notions of race, class, and gender, historians have not yet fully addressed a fundamental component in our historical identity: physical ability and its underlying concept of normality. A close study of Deaf history offers one approach to this issue, and students will confront some of the specific issues facing this minority group. Particular attention will be paid to the ways in which deafness has been interpreted within the mainstream community, as well as how the Deaf people expressed and preserved their cultural identity. By studying the changes in this group and its relation to hearing society, this course also raises broader issues of cultural identity in the United States.

This is an historical survey of the mass media ( print, film, and television ) as sources and interpreters of deafness and deaf people within the context of U.S. social and cultural history. This class also will examine historical changes in the products of mass media within the deaf community and offer ways of critiquing media sources.

This course will cover a variety of important topics in the history of the Deaf in Europe from the Eighteenth Century to the present, covering significant events, movements, issues, and perspectives on deafness in Great Britain, France, Germany, Russia, and Italy. Topics may vary each time the course is taught, based on emerging scholarship and its availability in English translation. Specific topics may include the medieval origins of modern cultural assumptions; changing attitudes and ideas about Sign Language in the Enlightenment; Abbe de l'Epee and other early educators of the Deaf; The Congress of Milan; The Braidwoods; Eugenics and Deafness; the evolution of education for the Deaf in Europe; Deaf People in Hitler's Europe; Modern Deaf Liberation Movements; etc.

This course will cover a series of important topics in the history of the Deaf people in Europe living under Hitler's dictatorship. Topics may vary each time the course is taught, based on emerging scholarship and its availability in English translation. Topics will include the nature of Nazism and the Holocaust; the deaf community in 1933; deaf Nazis; eugenics, sterilization and the ''T-4'' Program; the fate of deaf Jews in Europe.

This course will address the meaning of disability in America in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. This is a cultural study of disability, and will confront the social construction of disability, its representation and changing meaning in society. By challenging common social assumptions, and expanding social historical studies of marginalized groups, this course also refocuses the study of such major themes in history as nativism, the role of media, community histories, eugenics, gender roles, the idea of progress, and the perception of normalcy.

Examining the intersection of women's history and Deaf history, this course offers a close and comprehensive study of a minority within a minority: Deaf women. Students will be introduced to recent scholarship that directly examines this topic, as well as vital works from related fields in history and other disciplines. As a graduate-level course, this class emphases comparative studies and multidisciplinary interpretations, honing students' analytical skills. Moreover, it will incorporate hands-on work with primary sources to promote independent research in history and related disciplines. Ultimately, this focused study of identity challenges students to reconsider traditional notions of history, gender, disability, cultural Deafness, beauty, normalcy/ability, citizenship, and status.

This course is designed to provide students with an opportunity to practice collecting, interpreting, and presenting data according to acceptable standards of method and style. Through focused discussions of the nature and problems of the discipline of history and specific challenges in Deaf history, students will gain confidence and skill in ''doing'' and assessing Deaf history. Because this course also examines the interaction between historical techniques and those of related disciplines, students with varied backgrounds and interests will improve their critical thinking and research skills.

This course allows advanced students to focus on individualized research projects. Building on foundations in history, students in this course will produce original work drawn heavily from primary sources. Projects will demonstrate a strong understanding of historical methods, and the ability to apply critical thinking and advanced research skills. The research, analysis, and writing require an amount of time equivalent to three-credit hours per semester, for a maximum of six credit hours.

This course allows advanced students to focus on individualized research projects. Building on foundations in history, students in this course will produce original work drawn heavily from primary sources. Projects will demonstrate a strong understanding of historical methods, and the ability to apply critical thinking and advanced research skills. The research, analysis, and writing require an amount of time equivalent to three-credit hours per semester, for a maximum of six credit hours.

Grading System: letter grades only.

Independent studies enable advanced study of a topic, of interest to the student and the faculty member, not covered in the curriculum. Independent studies should not substitute for required courses, although exceptions may be considered on a case-by- case basis. Note: A Registrar's Office Graduate Student Independent Study Form (http://www.gallaudet.edu/registrars_office/forms.html) and syllabus must be submitted to the Registrar's Office before the add/drop period ends to register for an Independent Study