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 the 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. In 2006 there were over 150
colleges and universities offering interpreter education and training programs. 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
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
