Journals, Deaf Studies

Deaf Studies journals have experienced remarkable transformation in educating the public and community from their inception as a “silent press” in the 1830s to conveying research studies in sign languages and visual art through online digital journals. Deaf writers and editors emerged in the 19th century when deaf individuals acquired knowledge of the printing press and began to disseminate information for their own communities in journals and newspapers. Although over 500 publications, ranging from newspapers to journals, have emerged since the early 19th century, deaf publications underwent strain as many publications faltered due to lack of funds and subscriptions. The medical society took interest in the Deaf community for medical research, but conflicts ensued since the medical community perceived a hearing condition as a medical condition that needed to be treated, whereas Deaf people regarded being deaf as a culture or identity. Hence, through publication, deaf writers exchange discourses, case studies, and ethnographies on Deaf Studies, educating deaf and hearing alike. Presently, the deaf population in the United States stands at approximately 500,000; therefore, these individuals face being marginalized in publications and in quantitative research by the investigators. However, through the platform of the Internet in the late 20th century, publications and journals by deaf writers soared worldwide as the Deaf community published its own research through sign language in video format rather than print. Web 2.0 tools enable Deaf writers to conduct their own research and continue writing about their culture in their own sign language rather than rely on English or hearing investigators to present their Deaf Studies.

The term silent press, referring to publications pertaining to deaf people, was coined in the earlier 19th century when Levi Backus purchased the Canajoharie Radii newspaper in 1839 and became the newspaper’s first deaf editor. He published articles that related to deaf people alongside articles for the hearing population of Canajoharie, New York, every Thursday. He later received funding from the New York State Legislature to send his newspaper to deaf people in the state of New York. In 1847, American Annals of the Deaf and Dumb, the first peer-reviewed academic journal dedicated to the education of Deaf students, was published in English. The objective of this journal is to inform education concerning deaf students, children and adults alike. It was renamed in 1886 American Annals of the Deaf. Only once its publication run, the journal was suspended from 1861 to 1868 due to the U.S. Civil War. Today, this journal is the oldest educational journal in the United States and is published quarterly by Gallaudet University Press. Undoubtedly, Gallaudet University has played a significant role in the publication of Deaf Studies since its establishment in 1864 as the oldest research center for the deaf in the world. The first periodical targeted solely for the deaf [Page 538]audience was the Gallaudet Guide and Deaf-Mutes’ Companion in 1860 by Gallaudet University. More than a decade later, the first literary magazine for the deaf was published in 1871, named The Silent World, but ended its publication after 5 years. In 1885, deaf students from the Arkansas Deaf-Mute Institute printed their own 8-page newspaper after working on their school’s newspaper Deaf-Mute Optic. Deaf schools and institutions in the United States and Canada followed suit, and their deaf students commenced to publish newspapers and magazines known as “Little Papers” that were written and edited largely by deaf students for their colleagues and community, deaf and hearing alike. These newspapers opened doors for exchange and communication between deaf students and the hearing society they resided in. In February 1888, George S. Porter published a national newspaper for the deaf called The Deaf-Mute Times, which was later renamed The Silent Worker. This popular newspaper contained articles and artwork written and created only by deaf Americans and deaf correspondents from around the world, in subjects ranging from news to famous deaf personalities, all the while promoting Deaf Studies. It ended its publication in June 1929. The Alexander Graham Bell Association for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing created a scholarly peer-reviewed journal named Volta Review, which covers research on communication by individuals with auditory differences. This journal is still in publication after over 113 years and is publishing triennially.

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