Sign Language
Studies Department
Statement of Philosophy and Mission
The following Sign Language Studies philosophy statement is
based on the foundational values as set forth by the mission statement of
Madonna University. It is also based on humanistic values as stated in the Madonna
University Undergraduate Bulletin 2006-2008, pages 6 and 7.
The Department of Sign Language Studies (SLS) is dedicated to the
humanistic values of Madonna University (as stated in
the above University mission statement) and to the preparation of persons who can fill
meaningful roles in society as Sign language specialists. Just as we expect our graduates
to keep abreast of developments in the field, so must the Department constantly seek to
re-evaluate its role within the University and within the field of Sign language studies.
Thus, not as an end in itself but as part of an ongoing process, the Department offers the
following statement of educational philosophy.
The field of Sign language studies is broad and only recently has emerged as a
discipline of study or professional practice. Counted among Sign language specialists are
interpreters, Sign language instructors, linguists, psychologists, semioticians,
anthropologists, kinesiologists, social workers, researchers, medical personnel, special
education personnel and counselors. The scope of the field is reflected in the diversity
of topics discussed at professional conferences and presented in the various issues of the
journal, Sign Language Studies e.g.: linguistic analysis of various Sign languages,
the use of Sign language for special populations, neurological reports, sociolinguistic
studies, developmental studies, problems in translation and teaching, language origins,
non-verbal behavior, animal communication, historical studies, Sign language interpreting,
international Sign language studies, visual processing and aesthetics to name a few.
The Sign Language Department at Madonna University has, until now, concerned itself with
only a small part of this broad field. The Department has provided communicative Sign
language skills for persons who wish to apply those skills in various lines of work or
further study and has specifically attempted to educate persons as ASL-English
interpreters. In both cases the SLS curriculum has been a reflection of the current state
of the art, or more accurately, current perceptions of the state of the art.
The state of the art, however, is hardly static. The field of Sign language is
witnessing phenomenal growth both in terms of scope and intensity. The influence of
technology including the Internet, World Wide Web and related computer enhanced hardware
and software programs, and distance learning programs, both synchronous and asynchronous,
only hint at future applications of Sign language research and application. The SLS
Department wishes and intends to be not just a reflection of this growth but a catalyst to
it. To this end, continued reassessment and revision of the curriculum within the
Department is essential. It is important to examine not only the core area of study and
the interpreting specialty but also the possibility of providing expanded educational
opportunities in the areas of Sign language teaching, Deaf education Sign language theory
and research.
In 1975, when the interpreter training program at Madonna University was begun, there
were two institutions offering Bachelor of Arts degrees in interpreting and ten
institutions offering Associate of Arts degrees in interpreting. In June 1979, it was
reported at a conference on the State of the Art of Interpreting and Interpreter Training
that over 60 institutions were offering programs for interpreter training. In summer of
1985 over 360 colleges and universities reported offering at least one class in Sign
language or began accepting Sign language as foreign language credits. Madonna University
remains the only four-year, private independent liberal arts university to offer a
Bachelor of Arts in Sign Language Studies in the United States. Since 2003 more than five hundred two-year colleges, four-year universities and graduate
programs offer courses and programs that include Sign language as a significant area of
study.
It is the position of the SLS Department that a solid, thorough education in American
Sign Language (ASL) is fundamental to the preparation of Sign language specialists in any
area of study. It is also the position of the Department that ASL is a language and must
be taught as a language. Therefore, the SLS faculty recognizes
that priority be given to continued strengthening of the Department's offerings in courses
designed to develop facility in the language (i.e., ASL) and understanding of its
structure, communicative functions and community. Beyond the core courses, SLS students
may elect other courses that will best meet their career preparation needs: courses
relating to Sign language teaching, interpreting or research.
The SLS Department recognizes that a sociolinguistic and cultural approach to the
instruction of American Sign language best models the language used in conversation,
formally and informally, by the majority of Deaf citizens in the United States. This
respect for Sign
language as a human right to communicate is a central mission of
the SLS Department. This represents the social, linguistic, educational and communicative
direction in which respect for the American Deaf culture and its language, American Sign
Language, is incorporated into educational components and the instructional philosophy of
the SLS curriculum.
June, 2006
For information on Madonna University's statement on
Liberal Arts please click on
Liberal
Arts.
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