The Seventeenth International Conference on Books, Publishing & Libraries

Abstract

As sign languages have yet to develop a commonly practiced written system, they bear similarities to oral traditions. As such, the history of sign language “texts” is a very recent one, beginning with the advent of film technologies. Despite this relatively recent advancement, digital video and web-based platforms have encouraged a proliferation of sign language publications. One significant advancement is the Deaf Studies Digital Journal, the world’s first peer-reviewed journal in signed languages, accompanied by written text. Launched in 2009, DSDJ is currently migrating to new platform designed and hosted by Michigan Publishing, and funded by NEH. The presentation addresses the conference themes of access, diversity and democracy, and will be divided into three parts: 1) Historic and theoretical implications of sign language publishing as a means of creating a body of literature and platform for a Deaf public voice. In this sense, the traditional notion of access is reversed, where DSDJ provides access to non-signing individuals to the wisdom and intellectual contributions of an often overlooked community. 2) The postcolonial context of Deaf communities to reveal the ideological underpinnings of the continuing influence of written texts over the embodied manifestations of sign languages, and points to DSDJ as a potential means for increasing the diversity of voices within the academy. 3) The evolution of DSDJ to address its unique position in academic publishing, the challenges it faces, and the innovative ways to integrate technology and embodied languages to create new democratic possibilities of sign language publishing,