Critical Approaches to American Sign Language Literature

FAIN: RZ-20263-98

Gallaudet University (Washington, DC 20002-3600)
Jennifer L. Nelson (Project Director: September 1997 to March 2003)

To support the preparation of a book and CD-ROM of critical essays on original literature created in American Sign Language.

This project will develop the first text to examine critical approaches to literature in American Sign Language. As ASL has no written form, the anthology will be developed using CD-ROM technology to create an English-ASL text accessible to a wide audience. The anthology will be a bilingual and bi-cultural collaboration between Deaf and hearing scholars. Recognizing ASL as a medium for literature challenges traditional definitions of literature, genre, and text. A comprehensive study of ASL literature, then, has the potential to enhance the scope of the humanities in the areas of literature, criticism, and the visual and performing arts.