[ASL] history of ASL at Hampshire

[Kaitlyn Millen]

Dear Hampshire ASL Email List Members,

 

First, for those of you not in the ASL classes this fall- thank you for
being tolerant of the course-specific emails. Second, I just wanted to say
thanks for helping to make ASL at Hampshire a success so far. Your continued
interest in ASL and Deaf community events is the foundation of these ASL
classes. 

 

When I first came to Hampshire in '02, there were no ASL classes in any of
the five colleges that were open to all students. Michelle Bernstein (F'01)
and I commuted to Holyoke Community College to learn ASL. Last fall (2004)
we decided to teach a student taught introductory level course at Hampshire
since there was nothing else available (we knew that it was controversial
for hearing students to be teaching ASL). I registered the teaching of this
class, along with outside research as an independent study while we arranged
for students to get credit for taking the class as an independent study.
There was a strong interest in the course.

 

Laura Vitkus, who works in Student Affairs and is fluent in ASL helped
Michelle and I draft a proposal to bring professionally taught ASL to
Hampshire. Laura searched for a teacher and helped with much of the
behind-the-scenes work. After a semester of hard work on the class and many
meetings, Hampshire committed to offering ASL! Spring of 2005 was the first
ASL class, added to the list at the last minute but still filled. This fall,
so many students expressed interest in ASL classes that a second section
needed to be opened up. Debbie Rotkowitz (F'02) and I were T.A.s for these
classes. Now, this spring, ASL 2 will be offered.

 

I just wanted to say that I am so excited that Hampshire has this to offer.
Possibly some students will continue to be involved with ASL and the Deaf
community. If nothing else, students are able to explore an interesting
topic and will be more aware of a different culture. 

 

Thank you so much to everyone involved with this process. I especially want
to thank Ruth Moore (professor of ASL at Hampshire) for being such an
AMAZING professor and for really inspiring many people. Without an effective
teacher, the classes could not be a success. 

 

Finally, if there are any students who decide they want to pursue Deaf
Studies and have any questions at all, don't hesitate to contact me. I will
use the below email for at least a couple more years. As someone who made
Deaf Studies as part of my concentration before there were ASL classes, I
have many suggestions for how you can make it work as well as resources in
the area. 

 

Have a wonderful break!

 

Kaitlyn Millen, F'02

kmillen at hampshire(dot)edu  (this is to prevent spam since it's a public
list)

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