In the first part of her talk, Morse focused on the history of religious rhetoric in the founding of sign language in the United States. According to Morse, there were instructors, referred to as “oralists,” who believed that Deaf people should be taught to use spoken language rather than allowed their own sign language. Advocates for teaching sign language to Deaf Americans “evoked biblical themes and references” in order to persuade others to their cause, claiming a religious and ethical imperative to save the souls of the Deaf by giving them a language that allowed them to fully hear and accept religious teachings. Morse’s research focuses on how this religious rhetoric has impacted the culture and language of Deaf Americans throughout history and today.<\/p>\n

The Preservation of Sign Language<\/h3>\n

During her talk Morse showed a seminal silent film from 1913 titled “the Preservation of Sign Language,” made by then-President of The National Association of the Deaf, George Veditz. This 14-minute film utilized “biblical rhetoric to condemn the oralists” and to support the continuation of sign language. The creation of the film itself served a dual purpose, as it was also a way to record sign language and preserve it in a time when the usage of sign language was being prosecuted and its future uncertain. This film represents one of the many instances where religious rhetoric was directly tied with sign language and its preservation<\/p>\n