Capturing Deaf Heritage

FAIN: PY-234457-16

Gallaudet University (Washington, DC 20002-3600)
Jean Lindquist Bergey (Project Director: June 2015 to April 2017)

A day-long community event hosted by the Center for Deaf Documentary Studies in collaboration with the Gallaudet University Archives to further the documentation of the American Deaf community’s cultural heritage. Through digitization, the project would gather historical materials, including personal photographs, family letters, documents, artifacts, and 3D objects. The event would feature four workshops—free, bilingually (ASL/English) accessible, and open to the public—on topics including: Cultural Heritage Material in Research and Public History presented by a staff member of the Smithsonian National Museum of American History, Artifacts and Cultural Heritage by a museum specialist from the Gallaudet University Museum, Individual Collections as Community Heritage by faculty from the Center for Deaf Documentary Studies, and Recovery Stories by a faculty member from the Department of English who would provide a brief study of how individuals’ text stories are put into context for the public.

Gallaudet University’s Common Heritage project Capturing Deaf Heritage combines community outreach and programming with capture and preservation of primary source material. This day-long event hosted by the Center for Deaf Documentary Studies (CDDS) in collaboration with the Gallaudet University Archives will increase appreciation for and stewardship of the American Deaf community’s cultural heritage. Capturing Deaf Heritage day will use best practices and Archival expertise to reach individuals who often do not recognize that personal images and collections have value to the wider community and to researchers of U.S. history. The digitization and workshop day is slated to coincide with Gallaudet University’s Homecoming weekend in October 2016 for maximum community participation. In addition to Gallaudet faculty, staff and students, Homecoming typically draws 2,000 deaf people to campus from many states. This application requests $12,000 for digitization equipment and supplies.