Deaf Heritage in Canada

Laurie C.C. Stanley-Blackwell is an associate professor of history at
St. Francis Xavier University in Nova Scotia.

During the past decade in the United States, there has been a remarkable
growth of literature that depathologizes deafness and examines its
sociocultural implications. Canadian writers are just beginning to
explore this distinctive subculture. Until recently, histories of
Canadian Deaf culture have consisted largely of florid tributes to the
genius of Alexander Graham Bell. This substantial and well-documented
volume, sponsored by the Canadian Cultural Society of the Deaf, provides
an important corrective.

Based on personal interviews and 10 years of extensive research into
primary and secondary sources, and modeled after Jack Gannon’s Deaf
Heritage: A Narrative History of Deaf America, this book celebrates the
courage, vitality, and achievements of Deaf Canadians striving for
acceptance and power within mainstream society. In 21 chapters that are
replete with photographs, Carbin examines a broad spectrum of topics,
including the role of residential schools, religion, law, organizations,
sports, visual arts, publishing, business, technology, sign language,
and political activism in the lives of 19th- and 20th-century Deaf
Canadians. The book is primarily descriptive, offering few interpretive
insights into the politics and meaning of Deafness, the daily life
experiences of Deaf people, and their struggle against cultural
dominance and linguistic imperialism. Nevertheless, Deaf Heritage in
Canada is destined to be a classic. It will inform Deaf Canadians,
special educators, and social historians, and has laid a firm foundation
for more analytical scholarship in this field.