A History of DeafSpace
Gallaudet University circa 1893
In history, members of the Deaf community have not had a place where they were able to call their own. They were forced to navigate the world around them that does not take into consideration a Deaf individuals way of being. Before the establishment of the Gallaudet University, there were no schools in existence that were geared towards the education of Deaf individuals. This one example shows the lack of consideration paid to the needs of the Deaf community (Gallaudet University, 2014).
Unfortunately, the issue of Deaf space and the emergence of the idea of creating spaces that allow for easy communication within the Deaf community, is very new. Up until recently, this concept of equal access and building design that works towards representing the Deaf culture and experience, was not seen as important. This is evident through the establishment of Gallaudet University. Although the Gallaudet University is the only university of its kind and formally named and recognized in 1894, very little as been done to distinguished the campus(Gallaudet University, 2014). Thankfully, in the recent years, committees and planning boards have been created to tackle this issue, and to slowly but surely make a change. Efforts have been made primarily at Gallaudet, but other schools such as George Brown College, have been following suit. Here at GBC, the Future Workscape Committee has been created to see what can be done to make our campus a more readily accessible DeafSpace for its Deaf students and faculty. Although this issues history is young, the potential for change and innovation is great.
Unfortunately, the issue of Deaf space and the emergence of the idea of creating spaces that allow for easy communication within the Deaf community, is very new. Up until recently, this concept of equal access and building design that works towards representing the Deaf culture and experience, was not seen as important. This is evident through the establishment of Gallaudet University. Although the Gallaudet University is the only university of its kind and formally named and recognized in 1894, very little as been done to distinguished the campus(Gallaudet University, 2014). Thankfully, in the recent years, committees and planning boards have been created to tackle this issue, and to slowly but surely make a change. Efforts have been made primarily at Gallaudet, but other schools such as George Brown College, have been following suit. Here at GBC, the Future Workscape Committee has been created to see what can be done to make our campus a more readily accessible DeafSpace for its Deaf students and faculty. Although this issues history is young, the potential for change and innovation is great.
