Teaching Deaf History to Hearing Undergraduates

This article discusses offering the History of the American Deaf Community class several times since 2012 at the University of Virginia. While I change the syllabus each time, I have found a few constants in my approach: I stress that students work with primary sources whenever possible, that they read influential secondary texts, that they watch Deaf films, that Deaf people visit our class, and students attend one or more Deaf lectures during the semester so they can experience a little of the culture. Finally, I try to set up pedagogical strategies where they can teach each other and develop a new understanding of American history through a Deaf lens.