200th Anniversary of American SIgn Language: Books

Laurent Clerc arrived with Gallaudet in 1816 and shared his knowledge of LSF which influenced ASL.
https://infoguides.rit.edu/prf.php?id=590096d9-7cdb-11ed-9922-0ad758b798c3

Finding Books

The "Lord is My Shepherd" image was painted by Thomas Hart Benton who summered in Chilmark, Martha's Vineyard and painted Deaf people living there. Check out this vlog by a Deaf docent, Lauren Ridloff, explaining the artwork.

Use the Gallaudet Encyclopedia and The Sage Encyclopedia of Deaf Studies to find background information about Laurent Clerc, Thomas H. Gallaudet, Alice Cogswell, Martha's Vineyard, the American School for the Deaf (ASD), and the History of American Sign Language (ASL). Search the RIT Libraries Catalog below for books on your topic.

In a YouTube video, educator Lauren Ridloff discusses artist Thomas Hart Benton's "The Lord is My Shepherd" (1926), which depicts a Deaf couple at their home in Martha's Vineyard. Courtesy of Whitney Museum of American Art.

Martha's Vineyard and Other Deaf Communities

Edit this Guide

Log into Dashboard

Use of RIT resources is reserved for current RIT students, faculty and staff for academic and teaching purposes only.
Please contact your librarian with any questions.

Facebook icon  Twitter icon  Instagram icon  YouTube icon