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This course provides origins and historical perspectives on sign language, basics of sign language linguistics, the communication debate between manualism vs. oralism, Deaf education and the establishment and growth of Deaf communities. Students will acquire basic vocabulary and grammar through interactive activities in development of basic conversational skills in ASL.

Students with no previous background in American Sign Language (ASL) will be introduced to basic conversational techniques in ASL, including both expressive and receptive skills. Basic grammar and vocabulary will be covered, including explanations of the fundamental parts of a sign, proper use of fingerspelling, and the significance of non-manual features. Instruction will be supplemented with videos, allowing students to begin exploring the visual literature of the Deaf community in the United States. Readings and class discussions will acquaint students with American Deaf culture, history and education, and the historical development of ASL.

This is the second in a sequence of courses in American Sign Language and Deaf Culture offered at Cornell. This course is a continuation of ASL 1101 and focuses on development of conversational and storytelling skills in ASL. Grammatical principles and functions will be emphasized. Appropriate cultural behaviors and conversational regulators in ASL will continue to be an important part of class. Readings and class discussions will acquaint students with American Deaf culture and social issues related to the Deaf community.

This intermediate level course will focus on rigorous development and expansion of ASL vocabulary, non-manual signals, and grammar features through communicative activities. Students will develop ASL presentations to increase communicative fluency. The course provides continued development and discussion related to intercultural competence, ASL literature, ASL linguistics and American Deaf culture/community.

This course is a continuation of ASL 2201, comprehension and production skills emphasizing on complex grammar, short stories, narratives, and interactive use of ASL. The student will continue a study in depth about the Deaf Community and Deaf Culture globally.

This course, taught by a culturally Deaf individual, will offer students an opportunity of learning first-hand about a culture within the American cultural context, with constructions of Deaf people as a linguistic minority. A major focus of this course is to bring students to an understanding of how differently the world can be viewed through Deaf eyes and how understanding this worldview can account for views toward the teaching and enculturation of deaf children, Deafhood, biomedical ethics, oppression of signed languages, the provision of accommodations under the Americans with Disabilities Act, and a host of other issues at the interface between hearing and Deaf cultures.

This course provides an overview of various genres in American Sign Language literature including narratives, folklore, ABC stories, poetry, translated works and visual vernacular. Students will analyze contents, themes and stylistic techniques of works done by various ASL literary artists. This course emphasizes critiquing various narrative and poetic genres with planning and development of new literary works.

This course will explore approaches to the Deaf experience taken by Deaf artists from the 1900s to the present. Analysis of chosen works of Deaf art, film and theater will illuminate the expression of the Deaf narrative through symbolism, themes, and genres. We will examine the interaction of these works in multiple social, historical, cultural and political contexts and how they have contributed to the construction of Deaf culture and identity. This course will be taught in advanced ASL, with emphasis on the production and comprehension of academic ASL.

This course offers an overview of sign language linguistics, including the core areas of linguistics and how they apply to ASL and other signed languages. Topics covered will include, but not be limited to: arbitrariness and iconicity, non-manual signals, plurality, derivation of nouns and verbs, acquisition, sociolinguistic variation, emergence of new sign languages, and bilingualism in the Deaf community. The course will be co-taught by a native ASL signer and an English speaker and will be taught in both ASL and English. ASL/English interpretation will be provided.