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Dr. Andrew Foster's Contributions to Deaf Education in Africa, the Ghana Years (1957-1965)

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Dr. Andrew Foster's Contributions to Deaf Education in Africa, the Ghana Years (1957-1965) DR. ANDREW FOSTER'S CONTRIBUTIONS TO DEAF EDUCATION IN AFRICA, THE GHANA YEARS (1957-1965) by Joel Benjamin Runnels Bachelor of Arts, Western Washington University, 1997 Master of Arts in Teaching, Lewis and Clark College, 2000 Educational Specialist, University of Tennessee, 2017 A Dissertation Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of the University of North Dakota In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Grand Forks, North Dakota December 2020 Copyright 2020 Joel Runnels ii Joel Runnels Name: Degree: Doctor of Philosophy This document, submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree from the University of North Dakota, has been read by the Faculty Advisory Committee under whom the work has been done and is hereby approved. ____________________________________ Marcus Weaver-Hightower ____________________________________ Sharon Carson ____________________________________ Joshua Hunter ____________________________________ Ty Reese ____________________________________ ____________________________________ This document is being submitted by the appointed advisory committee as having met all the requirements of the School of Graduate Studies at the University of North Dakota and is hereby approved. ____________________________________ Chris Nelson Dean of the School of Graduate Studies ____________________________________ Date iii PERMISSION Title Dr. Andrew Foster’s Contributions to Deaf Education in Africa: The Ghana Years (1957- 1965) Department Educational Foundations and Research Degree Doctor of Philosophy In presenting this dissertation in partial fulfillment of the requirements for a graduate degree from the University of North Dakota, I agree the library of this University shall make it freely available for inspection. I further agree that permission for extensive copying for scholarly purposed may be granted by the professor who supervised my dissertation work or, in his absence, by the Chairperson of the department or the dean of the School of Graduate Studies. It is understood that any copying or publication or other use of this dissertation or part therefore for financial gain shall not be allowed without my written permission. It is also understood the due recognition shall be given to me and the University of North Dakota in any scholarly use which may be made of any material in my dissertation. Joel Runnels October 2020 iv TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ........................................................................................................... xvi ABSTRACT ................................................................................................................................ xxii INTRODUCTION TO AN UNSUNG DEAF AFRICAN AMERICAN HERO ........................xxv CHAPTER ONE: THE SON OF AN ALABAMA COAL MINER ...............................................1 Walking into a Silent World ................................................................................................3 The Religious Roots of Deaf Education in the United States ..............................................5 EPHPHATHA at Gallaudet University ...............................................................................6 America’s Segregated Schools for the Deaf ........................................................................8 Alexander Graham Bell: Oralism vs. American Sign Language .......................................10 Foster’s “New Normal” ....................................................................................................12 Deaf African American Students in the Jim Crow South ..................................................15 Dr. Carolyn McCaskill’s Experiences with Segregated Deaf Education ..........................16 CHAPTER TWO: A BIGGER DREAM .......................................................................................20 Foster: The Moses of the Deaf ...........................................................................................21 Becoming a ‘Preacher Boy’ ...............................................................................................24 Chuck Williams: Foster Became a Future Pastor for the Deaf People ..............................27 God’s Calling to a Place Like Africa .................................................................................29 The Deaf Renaissance Man ...............................................................................................30 “Technical” Rejection at Michigan School for the Deaf ...................................................32 v Gallaudet’s First African American Graduate? .................................................................37 Twice as Good in Half the Time: Foster’s Three Years at Gallaudet ................................40 Schools for the Deaf in the World .....................................................................................43 The Historical Roots of Deaf Education in Africa.............................................................46 Without Education, Deaf People Can’t be Reached ..........................................................48 Foster’s Transition from Gallaudet to Graduate School ....................................................49 Audism and Racism in Higher Education ..........................................................................50 They Turned Me Down on Racial Grounds .......................................................................53 The Genesis of Christian Mission for the Deaf Africans ...................................................54 Deafness Seems to Appeal the Least to Those with Funds ...............................................56 Foster’s North American Fund Drive Tours ......................................................................58 CHAPTER THREE: AN ADDRESS FROM SOME PLACE IN WEST AFRICA .....................60 Andrew Foster Always Had Africa on the Mind ...............................................................63 Pan Africanism and Black Missionaries ............................................................................66 Foster’s “Stopovers” In the United Kingdom and Europe .................................................68 The Love of Liberty Brought Them There ........................................................................72 Foster’s Greetings from the Not-Too-Dark Continent! .....................................................75 American Small Small .......................................................................................................76 The “Deaf and Dumb” in West Africa is a New Field ......................................................78 I was a “Boeboe” ..............................................................................................................82 An Educational Program for the Deaf in Liberia ...............................................................84 Unsatisfactory Conditions in Liberia .................................................................................88 CHAPTER FOUR: A SAFARI FOR SOULS ...............................................................................91 vi Welcome to Ghana: The Center of the World ..................................................................91 The Black Star of Africa ....................................................................................................93 “That’s What I Call Making a Real Revolution”...............................................................95 Africa Awakens ................................................................................................................97 The Roots of Mission Education in Ghana ........................................................................99 Africanization of Ghana’s Mission Schools ....................................................................101 Foster and Forgotten Heroes of Deaf Education in Ghana ..............................................101 Education Plan Ghana ......................................................................................................104 “You’re Deaf?” ................................................................................................................107 Foster’s Cultural Misunderstandings ...............................................................................110 Foster’s 43 Seconds of Fame ...........................................................................................112 Give Them a Name! .........................................................................................................114 Ghana May Have a Deaf-Mute School ............................................................................116 Many Are Called But the Few Are Chosen .....................................................................117 The CMDA Local Advisory Board..................................................................................119 Breaking through the Sound Barrier ................................................................................121 A Journey to Adamorobe .................................................................................................122 Look Deaf ........................................................................................................................127 Ghana Mission School for the Deaf .................................................................................128 CHAPTER FIVE: ROOTS OUT OF DRY GROUND ...............................................................130 “Hooked on the Deaf and Dumb Business”:
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