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This semester marks the first time students can fulfill the language requirement using American Sign Language. Two years ago, the Faculty Committee on the Course of Study (COCS) approved a proposal to establish a sequence in American Sign Language (ASL) that fulfills the University’s A.B. language requirement. The sequence begins with ASL 101 and finishes with ASL 107 where students are exposed to Deaf cultures and studies.
The University has expanded its ASL course selection significantly over the past few years. The first ASL course was offered in 2018 by the Program in Linguistics. In 2020, Genrietta Churbanova ’24 wrote in the ‘Prince’ criticizing the University’s underdeveloped ASL program. In agreement, Elaine Wright ’21 compared the University’s ASL program with other universities with more developed ASL programs in a guest column. These student actions propelled an existing proposal made by the Program in Linguistics to allow ASL to fulfill the A.B. language requirement.
Daniel Maier, a lecturer in the linguistics program, wrote to the ‘Prince’ that teaching ASL 101 and ASL 102 has been “an incredible and eye-opening experience.” For students, ASL is a new learning experience both culturally and linguistically. “ASL is created by the hands, body movement, and facial expressions, and I thought that was absolutely amazing,” said Veronica Zhang ’25.
As the University continues to expand its focus on disability and accessibility, according to Maier, taking an ASL course is one way for students to become more aware of “how ableism has come to influence much of our perceptions about language and culture.”
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Analysis by Jacqueline Zhou
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