Deaf Culture Question of the Week - May 25 - 29, 2009
Bill Newell, Principal Washington School for the Deaf

Who was the only deaf delegate to attend the Conference
of Milan in 1880?

a. James Denison
b. Laurent Clerc
c. Robert McGregor
d. George Vedita
Go to the bottom of this email for the answer.




















Answer: "a" James Denison - The Second International Conference on Education
of the Deaf held in Milan Italy from September 6 - 11, 1880 banned the use of
sign language in schools for the deaf worldwide. In terms of the course of
education of deaf students it is considered a catastrophic event in the
history of Deaf culture. There were 164 delegates at this conference. Only
one delegate was deaf, James Denison, who was among the five delegates sent
from the United States. The resolution of the Milan Conference that banned
the use of sign language and ushered in the "dark ages" of the oral method
read as follows:

"The Convention, considering the incontestable superiority of articulation
over signs in restoring the deaf-mute to society and giving him a fuller
knowledge of language, declares that the oral method should be preferred to
that of signs in education and the instruction of deaf-mutes."


The above resolution passed with only the United States and Great Britain
voting against it.

Read more about the Conference of Milan at these websites. See all the
resolutions that were passed regarding educating deaf students in 1880 at the
Wikipedia site.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milan_Conference
http://deafness.about.com/cs/featurearticles/a/milan1880.htm







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