San Antonio College Library

An examination of the educational instruction of the deaf from its Benedictine beginnings to the present at Gallaudet University.

"Partially deaf due to a childhood illness, Gerald Shea is no stranger to the search for communicative grace and clarity. In this eloquent and thoroughly researched book, he uncovers the centuries-long struggle of the Deaf to be taught in sign language--the only language that renders them complete, fully communicative human beings. Shea explores the history of the deeply biased attitudes toward the Deaf in Europe and America, which illogically forced...

"When the Mind Hears, the first comprehensive history of the deaf, is also a powerful and compassionate study of the anatomy of prejudice and the motives and means of oppression. It is a narrative, told largely from the vantage point of Laurent Clerc, the deaf Frenchman who was an intellectual leader of the deaf community in France and then in America. Ultimately, the story of the deaf is a tragic one, as educators throughout history have sought to...