User:Jennagc/New sandbox

Shared sandbox to draft American Sign Language Literature article as a group. Group members are Jenn Carlson, Yadira Flores and Abigail Bucklin.

Article Selection: American Sign Language Literature - Outline

Origins and History

American Sign Language (ASL) is the shared language of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing community in North America. Membership to this community is based primarily on shared cultural values, including a shared signed language. Those who are physically deaf or hard of hearing but do not share the same language and cultural values are not considered to be members of the Deaf community. Around 95% of Deaf children are born to hearing parents who are unfamiliar with the Deaf community, so Deaf children are often not exposed to the cultures and traditions of the Deaf community in their home environment. Schools for the Deaf, knows as Deaf institutes, are typically the environment in which Deaf children are introduced to their community’s culture.

The first such institute, the American School for the Deaf (ASD) in Hartford, CT was established in 1817 by Thomas Gallaudet and Laurent Clerc (then called the American Asylum for the Education of the Deaf and Dumb). Since ASD was established as a residential school, the Deaf students who lived there created a new linguistic community. The community that formed as ASD began new intellectual discoveries for the Deaf community, and was so successful that other Deaf institutes began to open around the country if there was a large enough Deaf population. This allowed the Deaf community to establish its own subculture, separate from the mainstream hearing culture, and develop as a linguistic minority.

At the time that ASD was established, Laurent Clerc, a Deaf man from France, was the primary sign language instructor. In the classroom, he taught French Sign Language (FSL) to his students. This allowed a mix of regional, local sign languages in America to mix with French sign language, which led to the evolution and development of ASL as a language in its own right. The most notable regional sign language that contributed to the development of ASL was the sign language used by residents of Martha’s Vineyard, where there was a strong Deaf community and the majority of hearing residents knew the local sign language. The majority of Deaf children on the Vineyard were sent to ASD when it first opened, which allowed their regional language to mix with FSL and evolve into ASL. The rise in Deaf institutes around the country led to an increase number of educated and literate Deaf individuals.

Despite the success of Deaf education during the first part of the 19th century, by the 1860s the education system saw a shift in which the hearing community began to force the Oral method of education on Deaf students, in which their education emphasized a speech-only approach and did not allow sign to be used in the classroom. The primary belief at the time is that this would help Deaf individuals develop in the same way as hearing children and allow them to integrate into society more easily. This shift led to a decline in the number of Deaf adults who were involved in the education of Deaf children. In 1880, a conference was held in Milan in which educators made a final decision that speech was superior to signing, based on the belief that signing would hinder speech development. From then through the mid-20th century Deaf students were never allowed to sign in class, and would have their hands tied or struck to discourage communication through sign. Despite the suppression of ASL in Deaf education, it was still a common means of communication in dormitories, playgrounds and Deaf families.

Following the introduction of the Oral method of education, the National Association of the Deaf (NAD) began a film project that began in 1913 and lasted until 1920, entitled The Preservation of the Sign Language, out of fear that ASL would not survive. The project sought to record and preserve the words of Deaf individuals who had a strong sense of Deaf cultural identity. The works recorded included lectures, poems, stories and songs. One of documented storytellers, John B. Hotchkiss, filmed a series of stories called “Memories of Old Hartford”, about his time as a student at ASD in the 1860s. From this film, we know that ASL storytellers, and therefore at least some modern ASL literary genres, date back to at least the 1860s.

As the Deaf community developed in Deaf institutes, families and clubs, the community’s cultural traditions have been passed from one generation to the next through something akin to the “oral” traditions of spoken languages. In this context, “oral” refers to the sharing of culture through interactions with other members of a cultural community. In the Deaf community, folklore and narrative traditions are included in the types of cultural interactions that are passed from person to person. The Deaf community also places a high value on an open exchange of information, since they cannot incidentally overhear information the way that hearing individuals are able to. Therefore, storytellers may be selected for their ability to share knowledge in addition to their storytelling abilities.

ASL storytelling traditions also spread across different regions in America when different Deaf institutes gather for events, such as sports, which allow budding storytellers to practice their craft in front of new audiences. Following their school years, Deaf community members from different schools may see each other again at Deaf community gatherings, where storytellers may be called on to perform their narratives. Individuals who have been approved by the community as performers are who Ben Bahan refers to as “Smooth Signers”, which he defines as “someone who as a language artist can weave a story so smoothly that even complex utterances appear simple, yet beautiful.” These storytellers provide a sense of community for their Deaf peers and help perpetuate common cultural values.

Large gatherings of the Deaf community are common in modern-day Deaf culture, such as conventions or festivals, and they are required for ASL literature to take form. If the Deaf community gathers in small groups, it is very rarely a productive means of creating and perpetuating ASL Literature. One example of a successful gathering of the Deaf community was the Deaf Way: An International Festival and Conference on the Language, Culture, and History Deaf People. It was hosted by Gallaudet University from July 9-14, 1989, included more than 500 presentations, workshops, artistic events and performances, and had over 5,000 attendees from a total of 76 countries, including the United States. Gatherings such as these allow for the proliferation of ASL literature and the “oral” dissemination of new works. Members of the Deaf community often leave the festival and share the new works with their own friends and family, to disseminate the works even further. Each shared iteration of a work may differ slightly from the original, which results in multiple versions of stories being passed through the community. It is common for Deaf community members to gather socially in their everyday lives, outside of large festival gatherings, sharing and dispersing their own personal narrative stories and traditional or popular ASL stories.

One important contribution to the development of ASL Literature was the ASL poetry scene that formed during the 1980s at the National Technical Institute of the Deaf (NTID) in Rochester, NY, and lasted until about 1991 when the poets moved their separate ways. Keeping with the community traditions of Deaf storytellers, older more experienced poets were influential on the younger generation of poets, and all poets openly exchanged feedback with each other.Through this process, Deaf poets developed through their own natural talent and their exchanges with more experienced poets. There was also an important exchange of ideas between hearing poets, such as Allen Ginsberg and Jim Cohn, and the Deaf poets in the Rochester community. One of the most notable exchanges was the Deaf poet Patrick Graybill acting out an image of a “hydrogen jukebox” from Allen Ginsberg’s poem “Howl” during a seminar in 1984. Upon being asked why he chose the word ‘hydrogen’, Ginsburg explained that he wanted the apocalyptic imagery of the hydrogen bomb to work as a metaphor for the arrival of rock and roll music. Graybill’s visual depiction in ASL of a “hydrogen jukebox” successfully brought the image to life, which is what Ginsberg was trying to accomplish through the words of his Beat poetry. Sutton-Spence notes that the energy of the poets at NTID in the 1980s was akin to Ginsberg's imagery, creating their own "ASL Poetry hydrogen jukebox."

Literacy

Prior to discussing American Sign Language (ASL) literature, it is important to have an understanding of what it means to be literate in a visual language. Historically, literacy has been understood as the ability to read or write, which can be problematic when discussing visual languages such as ASL. The spread of ASL literature has challenged the idea that language users can only be literate in languages with written forms. However, authors of ASL literature use their body as the text of their work, which is visually read and comprehended by their audience viewers. If the definition of literacy applies to all individuals who are educated and have knowledge of the world around them, then it becomes possible to be literate in any language, regardless of whether it is spoken or signed. Literacy allows an individual to derive meaning from language and to make inferences about the world around them.

As literacy skills develop, so too do cognitive abilities in such a way that literate individuals can begin making inferences from language by applying their knowledge of the world to what is being said. ASL does not have a written form as spoken languages do, so it requires a skilled user of ASL to view a work of ASL literature and make inferences about its meaning. A skilled signer will be able to move past the literal meaning of the work and convey a deeper meaning. The ability or the narrator to convey this deeper meaning and for the audience to infer deeper meaning in an ASL text requires a high level of linguistic skill for all individuals involved.

With the idea of literacy comes the idea of the “text”, which has historically been used to refer to language in its written form. Given that ASL and other signed languages do not have a written form, this definition should be expanded to include anything spoken or signed that has been preserved to read again, such as the text of a spoken language, or view again, such as the video text of a signed language. Any language recorded on paper or video allows its viewers to analyze its content and meaning, which itself is an act of literacy. The cognitive literacy skills that a language user can develop by reading and analyzing a text on a written page can also be developed by viewing and analyzing ASL recorded on video. The increased access that ASL users have to video-recorded content on the internet is leading to an increase in their ability to analyze ASL texts, and therefore a rise in ASL literacy. Prior to works of ASL being recorded on video, there was no practice of analyzing or seriously studying the works, but this has changed with the increased proliferation of recorded ASL. Video technology can be used not only to disseminate and analyze works of ASL literature, but to increase literacy in the classroom by providing students with visual feedback on their own work. By allowing students to watch a video playback of their own works, it allows them to develop their own language fluency by seeing which of their poetic or narratives works are more or less successful. This process allows students to develop their own cognitive abilities and begin exploring deeper literary analyses of their own work.

Features and Form [Change title of section, or separate into multiple sections?]

• Narratives of Personal Experience
• Cinematographic stories
• Folktales
• Translated Works
• Original Fiction
• Songs
• Translated Songs

Percussion Signing

Percussion signing is a type of sign language performance that involves signing along to a specific beat, somewhat like a song in spoken English. Drums are a commonly known percussion instrument. The name percussion signing comes from the fact that this type of signing resembles beats like those of a drum in a song.  Percussion signed songs are often performed like chants or cheers, and are common in group settings. For example, one commonly known example of percussion signing is the “Bison Song,” otherwise known as the Gallaudet University fight song.  Signing in this manner has a whimsical and musical feel to it that makes it so unique.

Stories with Handshape Type Constraints

The first type of handshape constraint stories are called ABC stories.  These stories are signed in alphabetical order, with each consecutive handshape following the letters of the alphabet in order.  For example, the first sign could be girl, using the A handshape, followed by the sign for opening a window which uses the B handshape, and so on.  The story can also follow the alphabet in reverse order, the only rule is that you cannot go out of alphabetical order, or skip any letters of the alphabet (2).  

Another handshape constraint story type involve plays on fingerspelled words.  These stories are similar to ABC stories, but instead of signing a story using the whole alphabet in order, the handshapes in these stories must follow the order of a chosen word.  For example, say you want to tell a story about snow. The chosen word would be snow, and the story must be told by signing using the handshapes of the letters of the word snow. Therefore, the first sign must use the handshape ‘s’, and then ‘n’, and so on.  

The final handshape constraint story type is called number stories.  These stories must be told using the number handshapes in successive order to tell a story.  Once again, these stories are similar to ABC stories in that they must be told in order, using the ‘1’ handshape first, then the ‘2’ handshape, etc..  These stories are slightly more flexible, as you can choose the length of the story based on how high you wish to count.

Each of these handshape constraint stories provides a playful way for students to practice language.  There is a creative aspect to these stories, allowing students to use their imaginations while composing the narratives.  In addition, the incorporation of specific letter and number handshapes requires students to practice and study the language without realizing it.  This technique of playful learning allows for assistance with language development in student signers (2).

Visual Vernacular

The term visual vernacular was coined and established by Bernard Bragg(3).  Visual vernacular is an expressive and artistic form of sign language storytelling.  The storyteller uses visual techniques such as role-shifting, facial expressions, and miming to tell a story in a visually expressive way.  The use of iconic signs, or signs that look like what they represent, in combination with role-shifting and other techniques used in visual vernacular allow stories to be universally understood.  Even if the story is told by a signer who signs in ASL, this story could theoretically be understood by viewers who use international sign languages, and even hearing individuals who understand no sign language (3).  Rather than just telling a story, in visual vernacular the storyteller becomes the story using role shifting and miming techniques to translate the story into the visual space.

Personification

Personification in sign language involves using the storyteller’s body part to represent an object in the story.  Doing so allows the object to “come alive” in the story. A very common example of personification in sign language stories is using the storyteller’s head to represent round objects such as different types of balls.  As the story is acted out, the storyteller’s head is the ball, and the storyteller can act out emotions that the ball may feel throughout the story, thus personifying the ball.

Poetry

In sign language poetry is not written, rather, it is created and performed.  When reading a poem in spoken English, the performer simply reads the poem word for word.  In sign language, it is often said that poetry is articulated through the poet’s body, and the poem is performed rather than simply signed.  Translating sign language poetry into spoken or written language is extremely difficult, as it is impossible to translate the movements and facial expressions and the story being told by the poet’s body itself into words (4).  Some well known deaf poets are Clayton Valli, Ella Mae Lentz, and Patrick Graybill.

Theatrical companies and performances [add to list]

• National Theatre of the Deaf

• Deaf West
• New York Deaf Theatre

Common Themes

Many cultural communities develop their own folk traditions, and the Deaf community is no exception. Such traditions help to solidify the cultural identity of the group, and help educate each subsequent generation of the community’s shared cultural values. These types of shared stories are especially important to minority communities who have faced oppression from the majority culture, as the Deaf community has. Through folklore and other forms of storytelling, the Deaf community is able to both establish and affirm its cultural identity so its members are able to develop their sense of self.

ASL Literature often emphasizes experiences common to the Deaf community, both in regard to their Deaf identity and to their status as a minority group. Todd Czubek and Janey Greenwald suggest that using what they call a “Deaf lens” to analyze literature allow a reader to recognize these themes and understand the experiences of the Deaf community. Deaf individuals are commonly born to hearing parents, and therefore are not exposed to the Deaf community and culture in their home environments. This results in many Deaf individuals being unaware of the minority culture unless and until they begin attending a residential Deaf institute, where the community enculturates and instills them with the values of the Deaf community. Teachers and older students will tell stories to the younger students as a means of helping them develop their Deaf identities.

One example of such a story tells of two Civil War soldiers, one from the North and one from the South, both of whom were Deaf. Upon encountering each other, they pointed their guns at each other, but upon realizing they were both Deaf, put their guns down and began chatting. This story is a powerful demonstration that the men’s shared Deaf identity superseded all other connections or alliances they had formed to the outside world. Not only do the two Deaf characters see a reflection of themselves in the other Deaf character, but they are also supporting each other in a way common to minority cultures.

Another common theme in Deaf Literature and culture is the idea of the community “coming into the light”, which is related to the closeness Deaf community members feel when they are together due to a shared means of communication. A production by the National Theatre of the Deaf, My Third Eye, plays with the theme of light. In one scene, after a helicopter rescues a person from a violent storm at sea, the sun rises over the water, which is depicted by Deaf performers use their hands to depict shining rays of sun. The gathering of the Deaf community creates hope, and therefore light. Another common theme of ASL Literature touched on in My Third Eye is the "two-world condition", which deals with the position of the Deaf minority culture existing within the hearing majority culture of society. One of the characters recounts his experience of arriving at a residential Deaf institute, which was an unfamiliar environment, and being left there by his mother for the first time. Over time, he beings to realize that the people of the majority culture have a different view of reality and a different way of living.

One traditional story commonly told in the Deaf community, Eyeth, reverses this two-world condition so that Deaf culture is the majority and hearing culture is the minority. In the version retold by Sam Supalla, a young Deaf boy does not want to return home to his hearing family for the weekend. A teacher tells him about a planet known as Eyeth, where everyone communicates through sign language. When the child becomes an adult, he moves to Eyeth and becomes a Deaf teacher to hearing children. One day, a student is upset because she does not want to return home to her Deaf family for the weekend, so he comforts her by telling her of the planet Earth, where the majority of people can hear and communicate by speaking. The story plays both on the importance of identifying with a common culture, and by playing on the puns "ear-th" and "eye-th" for the majority hearing and majority signing planets respectively. This traditional tale is also told in a play written by Aaron Kelestone at NTID, called TALES from the Deaf Side.

Ben Bahan’s story, “Bird of a Different Feather” creates an allegory about the oppression that Deaf children face when born into hearing families, and also uses the imagery of the absence of light. In the story, a straight-beaked bird is born into an eagle family. Throughout the story the eagle family attempts to mold the straight-beaked bird to fit in, thus setting up an allegory relating the experiences of Deaf children born to hearing families who try to mold them to fit hearing culture. The eagle parents enroll the straight-beaked bird in a school where it is supposed to learn how to act like an eagle, such as develop hunting skills, despite the differences in his physical characteristics. They even encourage it to undergo surgery to change its beak into a curved shape more like an eagle’s beak. The result is that the straight-beaked bird feels that he does not fit into a single bird species, and flies off into the sunset alone. In addition to playing with a “lack of light” imagery, Bahan is utilizing an animal fable in which animals are anthropomorphized to drive home a point, which is common to minority literatures. The allegory relates to the experience of many Deaf individuals whose parents believe their Deafness needs to be cured, despite the fact that many members of the Deaf community do not agree.

Sam Supalla’s For a Decent Living emphasizes the importance of community by tracing the difficulties that one Deaf man faces as he tries to earn a living for himself. His triumph at the end of the story represents the triumph of the Deaf community. Early in the story, the man leaves his home and meets an older Deaf person, who tells him about a local Deaf club and invites him into the community. Once the community accepts him as a member of the group, they tell him about a local factory where he can find work. Against the odds, the man is employed and impresses the manager, leading to other Deaf community members being hired by the factory.

Clayton Valli and Ella Mae Lentz’s works often use common themes such as “the suppression of ASL or hearing parents’ attitudes toward their deaf children.” [FIND EXAMPLES]

Important Works [add to this]

• Bird of a Different Feather
• For a Decent Living
• Long Way Home
• Dandelion

Important Authors [add to this]

• Ben Bahan
• Bernard Bragg
• Flying Words Project (Peter Cook / Kenny Lerner)
• Patrick Greybill
• CJ Jones
• Ella Mae Lentz
• Eric Malzkuhn
• Dorothy Miles
• Mary Beth Miller
• Robert Panara
• Debbie Rennie
• Sam Supalla
• Clayton Valli