This is an introductory course in American Sign Language (ASL). Note that this in not a course in "Signed English." ASL is a distinct, natural language with rules of grammar and usage as different from English as any foreign language. Consequently, a course in ASL is comparable to, and no less difficult or rigorous than, other language courses. The class meets four hours per week with an additional hour of lab study required. Exams test both expressive and receptive skills, including the use of appropriate vocabulary, grammar, functional usage, and cultural knowledge. This is the first course in a four-semester sequence of courses.

Taught in American Sign Language.

Prerequisite: 158:011 or consent of instructor.

This course is a continuation of 158:011. Advanced grammatical constructions and vocabulary are introduced. Goals for the course include improved conversational fluency as well as familiarity with American Deaf culture. The class meets four hours per week with an additional hour of lab study required. Exams test both expressive and receptive skills, including the use of appropriate vocabulary, grammar, functional usage, and cultural knowledge. Classes are conducted entirely in American Sign Language. This is the second course in a four-semester sequence of courses.

Taught in American Sign Language.

Prerequisite: 158:012 or consent of instructor.

This course is a continuation of 158:011 and 158:012. Advanced grammatical constructions and vocabulary are introduced. Goals for the course include improved conversational fluency as well as familiarity with American Deaf culture. The class meets four hours per week with an additional hour of lab study required. Exams test both expressive and receptive skills, including the use of appropriate vocabulary, grammar, functional usage, and cultural knowledge. Classes are conducted entirely in American Sign Language. This is the third course in a four-semester sequence of courses. 

Taught in American Sign Language.

Prerequisite: 158:013 or consent of instructor.

This course is a continuation of 158:011, 158:012, and 158:013. Advanced grammatical constructions and vocabulary are introduced. Goals for the course include improved conversational fluency as well as familiarity with American Deaf culture. The class meets four hours per week with an additional hour of lab study required. Exams test both expressive and receptive skills, including the use of appropriate vocabulary, grammar, functional usage, and cultural knowledge. Classes are conducted entirely in American Sign Language. This is the fourth course in a four-semester sequence of courses.

Taught in American Sign Language.

In this course we will explore the creation of a distinct language and culture of Deaf people in America during the 19th and 20th centuries. We will examine how the meaning of deafness has changed in response to larger cultural and social changes in American history, and what effects these changes have had upon social policies concerning deaf people and American Sign Language. We will address such questions as why hearing people in both academia and popular culture have recently become fascinated with American Sign Language (a fascination last seen in the mid-19th century), why American Sign Language was suppressed for most of the 20th century, and why and how the Deaf community has maintained its language and culture in the face of persistent opposition.

The readings will be eclectic, including social and cultural histories, historical documents, and representations of deafness in film and fiction. Grades will be based upon written exams, papers, presentations, and consistent, informed participation classroom discussion. 

This course can count toward the minor in ASL when taken with the one hour discussion in ASL . That course is a 4 s.h. course.

Taught by Baynton.

Same as 16A:104
 

This course is a discussion class that will cover topics such as issues in deaf education, Deaf Culture vs. hearing impairment, misunderstandings about signed languages, the place of hearing people in the Deaf community, and Deaf characters in literature and film. Readings will include Train Go Sorry by Leah Cohen, Mother Father Deaf by Paul Preston, A Journey into the Deaf-World by Bahan, Hoffmeister, & Lane, and A Deaf Adult Speaks Out by Leo Jacobs.

Taught in American Sign Language by Baynton.
 

This course will introduce students to the world of American Sign Language literature, as recorded on videotape and film (and whenever possible, in live performance). ASL literature encompasses traditional folklore, story telling, poetry, drama, oratory, jokes, and non-fiction narrative. Students will learn to analyze these genres in their social and cultural contexts as expressions of Deaf experience, and explore how historical and current issues in Deaf culture are represented in literary form.

Taught in American Sign Language
 

This course provides students with the opportunity to improve their receptive and expressive conversational skills in ASL through small group discussion and class presentation. Eclectic readings on topics in Deaf studies, Deaf culture, ASL literature and linguistics, and other related topics will provide the basis for the discussion. Print texts in English as well as videotexts in ASL will be used. Consistent attendance and participation is essential.

Taught in American Sign Language by Baynton.