Benjamin James Bahan is a professor of ASL and Deaf Studies at

Gallaudet University Gallaudet University ( ) is a private federally chartered research university in Washington, D.C. for the education of the deaf and hard of hearing. It was founded in 1864 as a grammar school for both deaf and blind children. It was the first sc ...

and a member of the deaf community. He is an influential figure in

American Sign Language literature American Sign Language literature (or ASL literature) is one of the most important shared cultural experiences in the American Deaf community. Literary genres initially developed in residential Deaf institutes, such as American School for the Deaf ...

as a storyteller and writer of deaf culture. He is known for the stories "The Ball Story" and "Birds of a Different Feather". He is known for writing the book ''A Journey into the Deaf-World'' (1996) with Robert J. Hoffmeister and

Harlan Lane Harlan Lawson Lane (August 19, 1936 – July 13, 2019) was an American psychologist. Lane was the Matthews Distinguished University Professor of Psychology at Northeastern University in Boston, Massachusetts, in the United States, and founder o ...

. Bahan also co-wrote and co-directed the film ''Audism Unveiled'' (2008) with his colleague Dirksen Bauman.

Biography

Bahan was born to deaf parents in New Jersey and attended Marie Katzenbach School for the Deaf located in

West Trenton, New Jersey West Trenton is a section of Ewing Township in Mercer County, New Jersey, United States. It is a suburban area located adjacent to the northwestern portion of the city of Trenton, from which it derives its name. Located at the intersection ...

. Later he attended

where he received his bachelor's degree in biology in 1978. Afterwards, he attended The Salk Institute in

La Jolla, California La Jolla ( , ) is a hilly, seaside neighborhood within the city of San Diego, California, United States, occupying of curving coastline along the Pacific Ocean. The population reported in the 2010 census was 46,781. La Jolla is surrounded on ...

where he researched

American Sign Language American Sign Language (ASL) is a natural language that serves as the predominant sign language of Deaf communities in the United States of America and most of Anglophone Canadians, Anglophone Canada. ASL is a complete and organized visual lang ...

linguistics and acquisition. Then in 1981, he moved to the San Francisco Bay area to collaborate with Joe Dannis on starting a new business called DawnSignPress, for which Bahan was vice president. Later he moved to Boston where he attended

Boston University Boston University (BU) is a private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. The university is nonsectarian, but has a historical affiliation with the United Methodist Church. It was founded in 1839 by Methodists with its original campu ...

. There he received his master's degree in

Deaf Education Deaf education is the education of students with any degree of hearing loss or deafness. This may involve, but does not always, individually-planned, systematically-monitored teaching methods, adaptive materials, accessible settings, and othe ...

, as well as a doctorate degree in Applied Linguistics. During his studies at Boston University, Bahan helped operate the Deaf Studies Program in the School of Education.Lane, H., Hoffmeister, R., & Bahan, B. (1996). A Journey into the Deaf-World. San Diego: DawnSignPress. In 1996, he returned to Gallaudet as a professor and chair of the Department of ASL and Deaf Studies. He is currently an Executive Editor with Bauman and Melissa Malzkuhn of the Deaf Studies Digital Journal, the world's first online, peer-reviewed academic and cultural arts journal to feature scholarship and creative work in both signed and written languages. Bahan and his wife now live in

Frederick, Maryland Frederick is a city in and the county seat of Frederick County, Maryland. It is part of the Baltimore–Washington Metropolitan Area. Frederick has long been an important crossroads, located at the intersection of a major north–south Native ...

, with their children David and Juliana.

Works

"Bird of a Different Feather" is an allegorical tale of a bird born into a family of eagles. The family's response to this different member of the family represents the experiences of many deaf children born into hearing families. Topics of religion, identity, and

cochlear implants A cochlear implant (CI) is a surgically implanted neuroprosthesis that provides a person who has moderate-to-profound sensorineural hearing loss with sound perception. With the help of therapy, cochlear implants may allow for improved speech unde ...

are mentioned. ''A Journey into the Deaf-World'' offers insights into the deaf world, the community that it is made up of, and the benefits brought to the community by the language it uses. The book also focuses to the topics of education of deaf children, how deaf people assimilated into wider society, the natural development of ASL, the pros and cons of technology for deaf individuals, what can be learned from deaf societies in other countries, and what the deaf world holds in the future. ''Audism Unveiled'' is a documentary film about deaf oppression and how it has influenced people to develop a sense of deaf community and identity. It includes many personal anecdotes from a diverse group of deaf individuals. Bahan stars in

Emilio Insolera Emilio Insolera (born 29 January 1979) is an actor and producer, known for '' Sign Gene: The First Deaf Superheroes'' (2017).Archived aGhostarchiveand thWayback Machine In 2022, Insolera had a role in Simon Kinberg's ''The 355''. Early life an ...

's film '' Sign Gene: The First Deaf Superheroes'', the first superhero film about deaf mutants who have superhuman powers through the use of sign language. Bahan plays Hugh Denison, the boss of the Quinpar Intelligence Agency. The film was released in 2017.

References

External links

Deaf Studies Digital Journal
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bahan, Ben Deaf writers Educators of the deaf Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Gallaudet University faculty Gallaudet University alumni Boston University School of Education alumni American deaf people