Inside Deaf Culture by Tom L.
Humphries
Excellent Book For Your Collection On Deaf History & Culture
In this absorbing story of the changing life of a community, the authors of
Deaf in America reveal historical events and forces that have shaped the
ways that Deaf people define themselves today. Inside Deaf Culture
relates Deaf peoples search for a voice of their own, and their proud self-
discovery and self-description as a flourishing culture.
Padden and Humphries show how the nineteenth-century schools for the
deaf, with their denigration of sign language and their insistence on oralist
teaching, shaped the lives of Deaf people for generations to come. They
describe how Deaf culture and art thrived in mid-twentieth century Deaf
clubs and Deaf theatre, and profile controversial contemporary
technologies.
Most triumphant is the story of the survival of the rich and complex
language American Sign Language, long misunderstood but finally recently

recognized by a hearing world that could not conceive of language in a
form other than speech. In a moving conclusion, the authors describe their
own very different pathways into the Deaf community, and reveal the
confidence and anxiety of the people of this tenuous community as it faces
the future.
Inside Deaf Culture celebrates the experience of a minority culture--its
common past, present debates, and promise for the future. From these
pages emerge clear and bold voices, speaking out from inside this once
silenced community.
(20060124)
Personal Review: Inside Deaf Culture by Tom L. Humphries
Padden & Humphries, husband & wife, both wrote a wonderful book that is
much needed in terms of how Deaf Culture was or what it looked like in the
days of the past. To me, "Inside Deaf Culture" is a follow-up from their
previous book, "Deaf in America: Voices from a Culture". The difference is
the latter is introductory by explaining different aspects of what Deaf
culture is. The former contains selected pieces of Deaf history or rather,
incidents and circumstances where the authors explain or pinpoint where
some aspects of the Deaf culture originated.
For me, the most interesting parts of this book were the incidents occurring
inside the Deaf residential schools. For most of us who are familiar with
Deaf history, we know that the American School for the Deaf (Hartford,
Connecticut) was the first permanent Deaf school and was established by
Thomas H. Gallaudet, Laurent Clerc and Dr. Mason Cogswell. We also
know that the Kentucky School for the Deaf was the first state-supported
Deaf school. However, for many of us, we don't know what happened in
the schools, whether they be good or bad.
Padden & Humphries bring light to some of the Deaf schools' darkest
secrets. In addition, they also shed light to segregation between the Black
and White Deaf residential schools. They don't stop there. They continue
with voice, oralism, employment, theatre, American Sign Language (ASL)
and of course, culture.
*Inside Deaf Culture* is an excellent book that is highly recommended for
those in the Deaf-related fields. This book is also easy reading for those
who are not knowledgeable of the Deaf community.
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