Society for American Sign Language Journal Volume 2 Number 2 Article 1 September 2018 SASL Journal, Volume 2, Number 2 Follow this and additional works at: https://tigerprints.clemson.edu/saslj Part of the American Sign Language Commons, and the Education Commons Recommended Citation (2018) "SASL Journal, Volume 2, Number 2," Society for American Sign Language Journal: Vol. 2 : No. 2 , Article 1. Available at: https://tigerprints.clemson.edu/saslj/vol2/iss2/1 This Full Issue is brought to you for free and open access by TigerPrints. It has been accepted for inclusion in Society for American Sign Language Journal by an authorized editor of TigerPrints. For more information, please contact [email protected]. et al.: SASL Journal, Volume 2, Number 2 SASL Journal Volume 2, N umber 2 Fall/Winter 2018 A Society for American Sign Language Publication ISSN: 2474-8277 (online) Published by TigerPrints, 2018 1 Society for American Sign Language Journal, Vol. 2, No. 2 [2018], Art. 1 Society for American Sign Language Journal Volume 2, Number 2 Editor-in-Chief Jody H. Cripps Clemson University Department of Languages – American Sign Language 717 Strode Tower Clemson, SC 29634 [email protected] Fax: 864-656-0258 Copyeditors Betsy McDonald Laura A. Blackburn Georgetown University (Retired) Tidewater Community College Stephen Fitzmaurice Anita Small Clemson University small LANGUAGE CONNECTIONS Society for American Sign Language - Board of Directors Samuel J. Supalla - President Andrew P. J. Byrne - Secretary University of Arizona Framingham State University Harvey Nathanson - Treasurer Karen Alkoby Austin Community College Gallaudet University Gabriel Arellano Jody H. Cripps Georgetown University Clemson University Ronald Fenicle Russell S. Rosen Montgomery College CUNY - Staten Island Mission Statement The Society for American Sign Language (SASL) is a professional association with the credentials dedicated to basic and applied research about American Sign Language. SASL's goal is to expand linguistic accessibility. Linguistic principles are emphasized for understanding the signed language along with its aesthetics and role in literacy development and learning. SASL's scope and forum include theory, policy, and practice considerations, as well as addressing how an alternative language modality fulfills the needs and well being of all citizens in society. Copyright © 2018 A Society for American Sign Language Publication. ISSN 2474-8277 (online) 2 https://tigerprints.clemson.edu/saslj/vol2/iss2/1 2 et al.: SASL Journal, Volume 2, Number 2 Society for American Sign Language Journal Volume 2, Number 2 Retrospective on Socially Impactful ASL/Deaf Studies Research and Scholarship from 1960s to 2000s Table of Contents Editor's Introduction Carrying the Torch for American Sign Language Jody H. Cripps ............................................................................................................................ 5 Commentaries on Selected Papers The Start of a Revolution for Deaf People's Language Diane Lillo-Martin ...................................................................................................................... 7 Selected Paper #1: Sign Language Structure: An Outline of the Visual Communication Systems of the American Deaf William C. Stokoe ............................................................................................................ 11 The World Woke Up to Audism Erin Wilkinson ........................................................................................................................... 60 Selected Paper #2: Audism Tom Humphries ............................................................................................................... 63 A Vindication for ASL Literature Samuel J. Supalla ....................................................................................................................... 68 Selected Paper #3: The Nature of a Line in ASL Poetry Clayton Valli ................................................................................................................... 72 The Cultural Ethos of ASL Poetry Heidi Rose ................................................................................................................................... 80 Selected Paper #4: “Black Hole: Color ASL”: A Personal Response Karen Christie ................................................................................................................. 83 Unlocking the Curriculum: Thirty Years Later Laura Blackburn ........................................................................................................................ 87 3 Published by TigerPrints, 2018 3 Society for American Sign Language Journal, Vol. 2, No. 2 [2018], Art. 1 Selected Paper #5: Unlocking the Curriculum: Principles for Achieving Access in Deaf Education Robert L. Johnson, Scott K. Liddell, and Carol J. Erting .............................................. 91 Concluding Remarks Afterword Richard Meier ......................................................................................................................... 122 4 https://tigerprints.clemson.edu/saslj/vol2/iss2/1 4 et al.: SASL Journal, Volume 2, Number 2 Carrying the Torch for American Sign Language Cripps Carrying the Torch for American Sign Language Jody H. Cripps SASLJ Editor-in-Chief Clemson University I am pleased to reveal the first special issue for Society for American Sign Language Journal (SASLJ) entitled: Retrospective on Socially Impactful ASL/Deaf Studies Research and Scholarship from 1960s to 2000s. After the successful release of two issues for SASLJ, I feel compelled to go back in time and celebrate some of the most socially impactful scholarly works on deaf people and their language, ASL. This includes the significance of reprinting most of the manuscripts that were not published in mainstream or well-known journals. Rather these manuscripts in question were published as a working paper, in proceedings, or as a report, or through an online blog. I do not want these publications to become more difficult to locate over time, and I also do not want SASLJ subscribers to forget about these "underdog" scholars who contributed so much to ASL and Deaf Studies. I consulted with the Society for ASL (SASL) officers and selected a total of five socially impactful papers to reprint, ranging in publication dates from 1960 to 2000. One of these selected works was never published, and has remained a doctoral dissertation to this day. The selected papers for reprinting in this special issue are alphabetically ordered based on the authors' last names. The original full references are as follow: Christie, K. (2009). "Black Hole: Color ASL" - A personal response. Clerc Scar. Humphries, T. (1977). Communicating across cultures (deaf/hearing) and language learning. Unpublished Doctoral Dissertation, Union Graduate School, Cincinnati, OH. Johnson, R. E., Liddell, S. K., & Erting, C. J. (1989). Unlocking the curriculum: Principles for achieving access in deaf education (Gallaudet Research Institute Working/Occasional paper series, No. 89-3). Washington, DC: Gallaudet Research Institute. Stokoe, W. C. (1960). Sign language structure: An outline of the visual communication systems of the American deaf. Studies in Linguistics: Occasional Paper 8. Buffalo, NY: University of Buffalo. Valli, C. (1990). The nature line of ASL poetry. In W. Edmondson & F. Karlsson (Eds.), SLR '87: Papers from the Fourth International Symposium on sign language research (pp. 171-182). Hamburg, DL: Signum Press. I also took the initiative to invite scholars in the field of ASL/Deaf Studies from around the country to write their commentaries on one or another of the selected socially impactful papers. For each commentary, the scholars understood the task as outlined below. SASLJ, Vol. 2, No. 2 – Fall/Winter 2018 5 Published by TigerPrints, 2018 5 Society for American Sign Language Journal, Vol. 2, No. 2 [2018], Art. 1 Carrying the Torch for American Sign Language Cripps 1) introduction to the manuscript, 2) relevance/significance of the manuscript to the field of signed language, and 3) social impact from the manuscript. One scholar, Richard Meier of the University of Texas, graciously accepted my invitation to write an afterword for this special issue. Dr. Meier was given the task of reading all commentaries and selected papers and producing closing remarks. I must thank Dr. Meier as well as all of the other scholars who participated in this important endeavor for ASL. The scholars who agreed to write a commentary are alphabetically ordered as follow: Laura Blackburn, Tidewater Community College Diane Lillo-Martin, University of Connecticut Heidi Rose, Vanderbilt University Samuel J. Supalla, University of Arizona Erin Wilkinson, University of New Mexico Finally, my action in putting together the first special issue for SASLJ helps represent SASL organization's central purpose of maintaining a socially sensitive outlook in research and scholarship for ASL. This includes taking note that the world can be dark in understanding the alternatives of how human beings develop and use language. The concept of linguistic accessibility is deemed as indispensable and extremely important concerning deaf people. The participating scholars in this special issue serve as a testimony for their commitment to supporting and continuing the work of other groundbreaking scholars on ASL. Please look closely at SASL's logo below that includes an illustration with a hand holding