Affiliation: Gallaudet University, Department of Government & History
Biography: Brian Greenwald is Associate Professor of History at Gallaudet University, where he also coordinates the graduate Deaf History Certificate program. A graduate of Gallaudet University, Greenwald earned his MA and Ph.D in history from George Washington University. He is coeditor of A Fair Chance in the Race of Life: The Role of Gallaudet University in Deaf History and has published chapters in book collections. Greenwald also appeared in the 2007 PBS documentary Through Deaf Eyes. He is currently working on a book about the role of Alexander Graham Bell in the American eugenics movement. He resides in Annapolis, Maryland with his wife and two children.
Paper: “Beyond oralism: Alexander Graham Bell and the American Eugenics Movement, 1883-1922”
Abstract: Historians and scholars in Deaf Studies are long familiar with Alexander Graham Bell’s work with oralism. This paper intends to go “beyond talk” and specifically examine his association with eugenics. What was Alexander Graham Bell’s role and influence within the American eugenics movement? This presentation examines one of the most influential Americans of his generation and his research on eugenics, genetics, and deafness over three decades. This talk also explores Alexander Graham Bell’s association with other prominent eugenicists, including the American Breeders Association, and his efforts to shield deaf people from becoming subjects of eugenicists. Eugenicists questioned the value of genetic deafness towards America’s genetic stock during a critical period in American history. Bell’s advocacy and efforts on oralism are well documented and has received much attention and criticism; however studies of his association with eugenics movement has seriously misrepresented the historical record.
