UW News

July 24, 2008

Deaf educator to talk about technology

Harry Lang, a Deaf professor in the Department of Research and Teacher Education at the National Technical Institute for the Deaf at Rochester Institute of Technology, will be giving a public lecture on the subject of technology and how it impacts the Deaf community at 7 p.m. Aug. 7 in 120 Kane. A reception will follow. Voice interpretation will be provided.

Lang will speak about the history of technology within the Deaf community, which includes both positive and negative experiences. “Cures” for deafness, the impact of mass media developments, and advances in telecommunications devices are but a few examples. Lang will show how Deaf people have had to constantly battle for access. This presentation will highlight how positive change occurred when the Deaf community broke away from the centuries-old battle between sign language proponents and advocates of oralism and united to enhance their own lives with long-distance visual telephones.

For more information, contact Rob Roth at robroth@cs.washington.edu. This event is made possible by the generosity of AccessComputing and the Boeing Professorship.