The Language of Light: A History of Silent Voices Contributor(s): Shea, Gerald (Author) |
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ISBN: 0300215436 ISBN-13: 9780300215434 Publisher: Yale University Press OUR PRICE: $19.95 Product Type: Hardcover - Other Formats Published: August 2017 |
Additional Information |
BISAC Categories: - Language Arts & Disciplines | Sign Language - Language Arts & Disciplines | Linguistics - Historical & Comparative - History | Social History |
Dewey: 305.908 |
LCCN: 2017931104 |
Physical Information: 1" H x 5.8" W x 8.5" (1.00 lbs) 288 pages |
Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
Publisher Description: A comprehensive history of deafness, signed languages, and the unresolved struggles of the Deaf to be taught in their unspoken tongue Partially deaf due to a childhood illness, Gerald Shea is no stranger to the search for communicative grace and clarity. In this eloquent and thoroughly researched book, he uncovers the centuries-long struggle of the Deaf to be taught in sign language--the only language that renders them complete, fully communicative human beings. Shea explores the history of the deeply biased attitudes toward the Deaf in Europe and America, which illogically forced them to be taught in a language they could neither hear nor speak. As even A.G. Bell, a fervent oralist, admitted, sign language is "the quickest method of reaching the mind of a deaf child." Shea's research exposes a persistent but misguided determination among hearing educators to teach the Deaf orally, making the very faculty they lacked the principal instrument of their instruction. To forbid their education in sign language--the "language of light"--is to deny the Deaf their human rights, he concludes. |