"The debate over sign language called upon and expressed the central debates of the time, involving such fundamental issues as what distinguished Americans from non-Americans, civilized people from 'savages,' humans from animals, and men from women; what purposes education should serve, what 'nature' and 'normality' meant, and how they were related to one another"
Douglas C. Baynton
Douglas C. Baynton
Introduction
This website is the product of a research project on the topic of the implementation of the oral method in all deaf schools in the late 19th century and early 20th century. It examines what oralism is, the institutionalization of oralism, and explores a few case studies of some of the individuals in which the oral method was imposed on, including Horace Gillespie and Helen Keller. Gallaudet University’s response and alternatives to the oral method are also discussed.