Choice Outstanding Academic Title 2003 During the nineteenth century; American schools for deaf education regarded sign language as the "natural language" of Deaf people; using it as the principal mode of instruction and communication. These schools inadvertently became the seedbeds of an emerging Deaf community and culture. But beginning in the 1880s; an oralist movement developed that sought to suppress sign language; removing Deaf teachers and requiring deaf people to learn speech and lip reading. Historians have all assumed that in the early decades of the twentieth century oralism triumphed overwhelmingly. Susan Burch shows us that everyone has it wrong; not only did Deaf students continue to use sign language in schools; hearing teachers relied on it as well. In Signs of Resistance; Susan Burch persuasively reinterprets early twentieth century Deaf history: using community sources such as Deaf newspapers; memoirs; films; and oral (sign language) interviews; Burch shows how the Deaf community mobilized to defend sign language and Deaf teachers; in the process facilitating the formation of collective Deaf consciousness; identity and political organization.
#371900 in Books Sylviane A Diouf 2016-03-01 2016-03-01Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 9.00 x 1.04 x 6.00l; #File Name: 0814760287403 pagesSlavery s Exiles The Story of the American Maroons
Review
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful. has created an amazing work that spotlights a tremendously understudied aspect of American ...By Jake ZirkleSylviane A. Diouf’s Slavery’s Exiles: The Story of the American Maroons examines the maroon population of the United States. Diouf; an award-winning historian and a curator at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture of The New York Public Library; has created an amazing work that spotlights a tremendously understudied aspect of American Slavery. Slavery’s Exiles highlights the lives and experiences of slaves who chose to be free on their own terms; rather than living enslaved in the white man’s world. The primary focus of Slavery’s Exiles is to examine the various maroon populations that existed in the southern United States (excluding Florida). These maroons have largely been ignored or believed to have been non-existent. Diouf has examined a large amount of sources and the results of her research are indispensable. Diouf persuasively argues that many of the self-imposed exiles lived on the borderlands between the plantation and the wilderness; rather than in the wilderness itself. This is important because it illustrates the manner in which the maroons survived. While they would rely on their hunting skills to provide some of their necessary sustenance; those in exile would also partake in nighttime raids of farms and plantations. The maroons existed on a space between the plantation and the wilderness; an area that was their own. Diouf not only focuses on individuals who chose to live in exile; but also on communities comprised of former slaves. She spends time discussing communities in Virginia; North Carolina; South Carolina; and Georgia. Slavery’s Exiles successfully fills a gap in the historiography of American Slavery because it examines an often overlooked group; whose unique experience helps to further scholar’s knowledge of slavery in America. Slavery’s Exiles is extremely well-written and well-research. Diouf has created a compelling narrative that deepens one’s understanding of an important topic; while conveying that information in an interesting manner. This book highlights the lives of a small and resilient population that chose to live free in exile rather than in chains.14 of 15 people found the following review helpful. ProdigiousBy Mark LevineProfessor Diouf; in telling (and brilliantly) the story of runaways from slavery; has significantly supplemented the voluminous historical literature on the subject. In unearthing the often-inspirational (though occasionally sad; even tragic) tales of these men and women (and in some cases; of children; including those born in marronage) she has accomplished a prodigious task of research. Even those familiar with the scope of scholarly work on North American slavery will find something new; and often inspirational; here. Although I would have liked to learn if any men who were maroons at the time of the Civil War enlisted in the Union army; which would have added a dimension to our understanding of their motivations (as if the simple desire for one's and one's family's personal freedom is not enough); I am not at all sure that such information exists; and its absence in no way detracts from this volume's excellence.(With the me-too tendencies of Hollywood; and given the success of 12 Years A Slave; one might also foresee these heroic stories being brought to even more vivid life; but Diouf has already done her part). Bravo.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Author has to justify subject at first but then really picks up.By E-K. DaufinThis is a fabulous book that starts a little tediously but soon picks up and is the kind of book that absorbs you and gives you dreams. Touching. Moving. Amazing.
