International Week of Deaf People 2021
Celebrating Deaf Awareness Month, International Week of Deaf People,
and International Day of Sign Languages
This month, we’re celebrating Deaf Awareness Month, International Week of Deaf People, and International Day of Sign Languages. Although the recognition of d/Deaf people lasts throughout the year, the month of September highlights the efforts made to recognize, celebrate, and advocate for the d/Deaf community. The last week in September closes off with the International Week of Deaf People (IWDP) which was formerly known as International Week of the Deaf. It is an event that was initiated by the World Federation of the Deaf (WFD), an organization that focuses on human rights and access to sign languages. In agreement with WFD’s mission, the theme for this year is “Celebrating Thriving Deaf Communities.” Here are the related themes for each day of the week:
Monday, September 20: Cherishing Deaf History
Tuesday, September 21: Sustainable Deaf Leadership
Wednesday, September 22: Sign Languages for All Deaf Learners
Thursday, September 23: We Sign for Human Rights!
(September 23rd is also International Day of Sign Languages)
Friday, September 24: Intersectional Deaf Communities
Saturday, September 25: Deaf Culture and Arts
Sunday, September 26: Human Rights in Times of Crisis
Resources related to d/Deaf people, d/Deaf communities, and sign languages are available through the Columbia University Libraries system. Here is a list of some physical and online materials:
Physical books at Teachers College Gottesman Libraries:
Children’s books & YA books
A Picture Book of Helen Keller written by David A. Adler, illustrated by John C. Wallner & Alexandra Wallner
(book)
Dad, Jackie, and Me written by Myron Uhlberg, illustrated by Colin Bootman (book)
David in Silence by Veronica Robinson (book)
El Deafo written by Cece Bell, illustrated by David Lasky (book)
Feathers by Jacqueline Woodson (book)
Going With the Flow written by Claire H. Blatchford, illustrated by Janice Lee Porter (book)
I Have A Sister, My Sister is Deaf written by Jeanne Whitehouse Peterson, illustrated by Deborah S. Ray (book)
Laurent Clerc: The Story of His Early Years written by Cathryn Carroll, illustrated by Harlan L. Lane (book)
Macy McMillan and the Rainbow Goddess by Shari Green (book)
Miss Spitfire: Reaching Helen Keller by Sarah Elizabeth Miller (book)
Moses Goes to a Concert by Isaac Millman (book)
Of Sound Mind by Jean Ferris (book)
She Touched the World: Laura Bridgman, Deaf-blind Pioneer written by Sally Hobart Alexander, illustrated by
Robert Joseph Alexander (book)
Silent Days, Silent Dreams by Allen Say (book)
Singing Hands by Delia Ray (book)
Song for a Whale by Lynne Kelly (book)
T4: A Novel in Verse by Ann Clare LeZotte (book)
You’re Welcome, Universe by Whitney Gardner (book)
Wonderstruck: A Novel in Words and Pictures by Brian Selznick (book)
Tuck Triumphant by Theodore Taylor (book)
The Gift of the Girl Who Couldn’t Hear by Susan Richards Shreve (book)
Ruby Lu, Empress of Everything written by Lenore Look, illustrated by Anne Wilsdorf (book)
Silent Lotus by Jeanne M. Lee (book)
Other books
In This Sign by Joanne Greenberg (book)
Physical books at other Columbia University Libraries:
Children’s books & YA books
El Deafo written by Cece Bell, illustrated by David Lasky (book located at the Butler Library)
Other books
Deaf Children in China by Alison Callaway (book located in the East Asian Library)
Deaf Me Normal: Deaf South Africans Tell Their Life Stories by Ruth Morgan (book located at the Butler Library)
Deaf Sentence by David Lodge (book located at the Butler Library)
Deaf Republic: Poems by Ilya Kaminsky (book located at the Barnard College Library & Butler Library)
sections of Disability Visibility: First-person Stories from the Twenty-first Century by Alice Wong (book located at
the Barnard College Library)
Haben: The Deafblind Woman Who Conquered Harvard Law by Haben Girma (book located at the Barnard
College Library)
It's a Small World: International Deaf Spaces and Encounters by Michele Friedner and Annelies Kusters (book
located at the Barnard College Library)
Mean Little Deaf Queer: A Memoir by Terry Galloway (book located at the Barnard College Library & Butler
Library)
Mother Father Deaf: Living Between Sound and Silence by Paul Preston (book located at the Social Work
Library)
The Hidden Treasure of Black ASL: Its History and Structure by Carolyn McCaskill et al. (book located at the
Social Work Library)
Online books, articles, & textbooks:
Being and Hearing: Making Intelligible Worlds in Deaf Kathmandu by Peter Graif (ebook)
Deaf Around the World: The Impact of Language by Mathur Guarav and Donna Jo Napoli (ebook)
Deaf Epistemologies, Identity, and Learning: A Comparative Perspective by Goedele De Clerck (ebook)
Deaf Women’s Lives by Bainy Cyrus (ebook)
sections of Disability Visibility by Alice Wong (ebook) (plain language translation by Sara Luterman)
El Deafo by Cece Bell (ebook)
It's a Small World: International Deaf Spaces and Encounters by Michele Friedner and Annelies Kusters (ebook)
Mean Little Deaf Queer: A Memoir by Terry Galloway (ebook)
Shifting the Dialog, Shifting the Culture: Pathways to Successful Postsecondary Outcomes for Deaf Individuals by
Stephanie W. Cawthon and Carrie Lou Garberoglio (ebook)
The Art of Being Deaf: A Memoir by Donna McDonald (ebook)
The Deaf Heart: A Novel by Willy Conley (ebook)
articles in The Education of d/Deaf and Hard of Hearing Children: Perspectives on Language and Literacy
Development (ebook)
sections of Uncanny Bodies: Superhero Comics and Disability by Scott Thompson Smith and José Alaniz (ebook)
Understanding International Sign: A Sociolinguistic Study by Lori A. Whynot (ebook)
Vialogues (catalog for videos):
Making Visual Music (video)
Navigating Deafness in a Hearing World (video)
Seen in NY: Deaf Film Camp (video)
SLOAN - Deaf Notes (video)
Story Time with CODAs (video)
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As the semester progresses, I hope you have the chance to explore the range of resources available in person and online. Let us know if you are interested in learning more about celebrating d/Deaf people and their communities!
TC library email: library@tc.columbia.edu
TC Deaf Education Department website:
https://www.tc.columbia.edu/health-and-behavior-studies/deaf-and-hard-of-hearing/
TC ASL Club email: asl_studentorg@tc.columbia.edu
World Federation of the Deaf website : https://wfdeaf.org/
