Milan Congress and Aftermath (1880–Present)

Late 19th – early 20th century

• Advances in medicine, science and technology made it seem possible to “fix” disabilities.
  • Evolutionism: belief that organisms (including humans) have an inherent tendency to improve themselves over time.
  • Eugenics: belief that the human race can be improved by selecting desirable genetic characteristics; under these ideologies, deafness was viewed as undesirable and something to remove.
• In America: Alexander Graham Bell emerged as a highly influential advocate of oralism.
• In Europe: Germany became powerful again in promoting oralism (originating with Samuel Heinicke in the 18th century).
• Technology trends that shaped attitudes toward deafness:
  • Telephone: $1876$ – contributed to the development of amplification for hearing.
  • Electric hearing aid: first created around $1898$.
  • Audiometer: used to measure hearing levels; appeared around $1899$.

The Milan Congress (1880)

• Second International Congress on Education of the Deaf (ICED), held in Milan, Italy, $6-11 \, September \,$$1880$.
• Organized by supporters of the oralist approach with the aim to ban sign language.
• Participation:
  • 164 members from 7 countries.
  • Only one deaf delegate: James Denison.
  • 12 presenters: 9 supporting oralism, 3 manualism.
• Demonstration of the “success” of oralism: Italian deaf students understood and responded to questions in speech, as if they could hear. The Times headline claimed “Deafness is abolished!”
• However, concerns were raised that the demonstration might have been rehearsed or stage-managed (as argued by Van Cleve & Crouch; Lane, Hoffmeister & Bahan).
• James Denison’s later reflection: the Congress felt like a religious assembly that handed down a rigid doctrine without consulting those affected.

Resolutions of the Milan Congress

1. The Convention declared that articulation is superior to signs for restoring the deaf-mute to society and for language development; thus the oral method should be preferred to signs in education and instruction of deaf-mutes.
2. The Convention stated that the simultaneous use of articulation and signs harms articulation and lip-reading and the precision of ideas; therefore the pure oral method should be preferred. (Emphasis added)

Immediate impact of Milan

• Oralism became the dominant worldwide ideology after 1880.
  • Example: deaf schools in South Africa switched to oralism swiftly after 1880.
• Deaf teachers were fired and replaced by hearing teachers and speech experts.
• Schools were transformed into “speech clinics” with speech training as top priority; less time for formal education; sign language banned.
• Sign languages were discouraged in classrooms; deaf learners were not typically taught together; the education system became more isolated from Deaf communities.
• Feminisation of the teaching profession: more female teachers were recruited as caring professionals for deaf children.

Impact on the Deaf Community

• Deaf people were increasingly seen as defective or incapable of speech.
• Deaf communities were treated as an underclass in society; sign language was deemed inferior to speech.
• Fewer Deaf role models; deaf education came under the control of hearing educators; isolation and individualisation of Deaf individuals increased.

After Milan (the transition period)

• Subsequent ICED congresses continued to be dominated by oralist ideology.
• Example: Deaf ‘Triage’ at ICED Paris, 1900 – education levels for deaf learners were tied to success in oral education:
  • Higher education for those who performed well orally.
  • Artisan skills for those with mediocre oral skills.
  • Agriculture for those who struggled with oral education.
• The oralist ideology remained a dominant influence on deaf education throughout the 20th century.

2010: The Vancouver Statement

• It took about a century to officially re-examine and repudiate the Milan resolutions.
• ICED Hamburg (1980): first repudiation of Milan resolutions.
• ICED Vancouver (2010): formally voted to reject all of the Milan resolutions and issued the Vancouver Statement.

Late 20th century – Present

• Oralism remained dominant in deaf education (e.g., auditory-oral method).
• Pure oralism was inadequate for many deaf learners, leading to the development of alternative methods.
• Sign language research began (notably by William Stokoe in the 1960s), gradually improving the status of sign language.

Various Methods developed for teaching deaf learners

• (Pure) Oral method
  • Teach deaf learners to speak; medium of instruction is spoken language.
  • Sign language is completely excluded from the classroom.
• Simultaneous Communication (SSS)
  • Sign and speech produced simultaneously; every word spoken while each spoken unit is accompanied by manual signs.
• Manually Coded English (MCE)
  • Manual representation of English; not natural sign language.
  • Follows English grammar (morphology and syntax).
  • Content words may be borrowed from the local sign language; function words and markers are represented manually (e.g., and, the, in, of, -ed, -ing).
• Cued Speech
  • Visual representation of sounds in a language using handshapes for consonants and facial locations for vowels; does not mix sign language with spoken language.
  • Assists reception of spoken language but is less about expressive signing.
  • Examples: American Cued Speech charts and resources (illustrations and charts available online).
• Paget Gorman Sign System (PGSS)
  • Developed in the 1930s; gained popularity in the UK in the 1960s.
  • Created a new system of signs not borrowed from local sign languages; follows English word order.
  • Systematically represents groups of signs (families, colours, animals, etc.).
  • Criticisms: perceived as artificial and arbitrary; Namibian Sign Language reportedly developed from PGSS.
• Total Communication (TC)
  • Developed in the US in 1967; popular in the 1970s and 1980s.
  • Aims to find a middle ground between oralism and manualism; no fixed restriction on instructional methods.
  • Uses a combination of speech, signs, written language and other visual aids.
• Bilingual-Bicultural Approach (Bi-Bi)
  • Uses natural sign language as the medium of instruction for deaf learners.
  • Rationale: signaling that pure oralism is often inadequate; L1 (sign language) competence supports cognitive development and second-language acquisition.
  • Bilingual: literacy development (reading and writing) through sign language; Bicultural: equal status and treatment of Deaf and hearing cultures.

Summary of the Milan era and its aftermath

• The Milan Congress ($1880$) selected oralism as the sole effective method for teaching deaf learners, which had predominantly negative long-term consequences.
• The 20th century saw the invention of many alternative approaches due to the insufficiency of pure oralism for many learners.
• Sign language experienced a revival in status through sign-supported approaches and bilingual-bicultural frameworks, reflecting a shift toward recognizing Deaf culture and linguistic legitimacy.

Food for Thought for the next lecture

• How did the international trend in Deaf education affect countries such as South Africa? Think about policy adoption, cultural attitudes, and educational outcomes across different contexts.

Exam preparation prompts

• You may be asked to discuss Debbie Rennie’s ASL poem Milano 1880 in relation to your understanding of the Milan Congress and the history of Deaf education. Consider the ethical, cultural, and educational implications of the Milan resolutions and their repudiation.

References (selected from the provided slide deck)

• Branson, Jan and Don Miller (2002) Damned for Their Difference: The Cultural Construction of Deaf People as Disabled. Gallaudet University Press.
• Eriksson, Per (1993) The History of Deaf People: A Source Book. SIH.
• Gannon, Jack (1981) Deaf Heritage: A Narrative History of Deaf America. Gallaudet University Press.
• Lane, Harlan (1984) When the Mind Hears: A History of the Deaf. Random House.
• Lane, Harlan, Robert Hoffmeister & Benjamin Bahan (1996) A Journey into the Deaf-World. DawnSignPress.
• Wooldridge, Jonathan (2014) Signs of Promise: American Sign Language at Gallaudet University during the Nineteenth Century. Voces Novae.
• Van Cleve, John & Barry Crouch (1989) A Place of Their Own: Creating the Deaf Community in America. Gallaudet University Press.
• Sacks, Oliver (1991) Seeing Voices. Picador.
• S. Plann (1997) A Silent Minority: Deaf Education in Spain, 1550-1835. University of California Press.
• Yazawa, Kunimitsu (2000) Doukateki Tougou kara tyousei wo mitometa kyousei he. (In Gendai Siso, Rou kyouiku kara mita rou bunka sengen). Tokyo: Aoto-sha.