The Centre for Deaf Studies was a department of the

University of Bristol The University of Bristol is a public university, public research university in Bristol, England. It received its royal charter in 1909, although it can trace its roots to a Merchant Venturers' school founded in 1595 and University College, Br ...

, England, in the field of

deaf studies Deaf studies are academic disciplines concerned with the study of the deaf social life of human groups and individuals. These constitute an interdisciplinary field that integrates contents, critiques, and methodologies from anthropology, cultural ...

, which it defines as the study of the "language, community and culture of Deaf people". Established in 1978, the Centre claimed to be the first higher educational Institute in Europe "to concentrate solely on research and education that aims to benefit the Deaf community". The centre was at the forefront in establishing the disciplines of deaf studies and

deafhood Deafhood is a term coined by Paddy Ladd in his book ''Understanding Deaf Culture: In Search of Deafhood''. While the precise meaning of the word remains deliberately vague—Ladd himself calls Deafhood a "process" rather than something finite and ...

. It used

British Sign Language British Sign Language (BSL) is a sign language used in the United Kingdom and is the first or preferred language among the Deafness in the United Kingdom, deaf community in the UK. While private correspondence from William Stokoe hinted at a f ...

(BSL), had a policy of

bilingual Multilingualism is the use of more than one language, either by an individual speaker or by a group of speakers. When the languages are just two, it is usually called bilingualism. It is believed that multilingual speakers outnumber monolin ...

communication in BSL and English, and employed a majority of

deaf Deafness has varying definitions in cultural and medical contexts. In medical contexts, the meaning of deafness is hearing loss that precludes a person from understanding spoken language, an audiological condition. In this context it is written ...

teaching staff. The Centre offered

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, B.S., B.Sc., SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree that is awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Scienc ...

(BSc) and

Master of Science A Master of Science (; abbreviated MS, M.S., MSc, M.Sc., SM, S.M., ScM or Sc.M.) is a master's degree. In contrast to the Master of Arts degree, the Master of Science degree is typically granted for studies in sciences, engineering and medici ...

(MSc) courses, as well as research degrees at

MPhil A Master of Philosophy (MPhil or PhM; Latin ' or ') is a postgraduate degree. The name of the degree is most often abbreviated MPhil (or, at times, as PhM in other countries). MPhil are awarded to postgraduate students after completing at least ...

and PhD level. Bristol University announced plans to close the BSc course in May 2010 after a failed campaign by the centre's supporters and staff. By 2013 the centre was being gradually shut down by the university, by means of a programme of redundancies and staff attrition.

History

The centre was founded in 1978. Early research into the acquisition and usage of BSL was the first funded research into the topic in the UK. In 1980, the Centre produced the first coding manual for BSL, followed by the first textbook on the language in 1985. In 1980, the Centre ran the first National Conference on Sign Language in the UK, and the following year it hosted the first International Conference on Sign Language to be held in the UK. It also organised the first International Deaf Researchers Workshop in 1985. In 1984, the Centre coined the term "

", and in 2001, it established the first professorship in the discipline. Also in 2001, it employed a deaf director, the first time that the head of a European academic Centre had been deaf. In 2003, the book ''Understanding Deaf Culture: In Search of Deafhood'', by the centre's researcher

Paddy Ladd Paddy Ladd (born 11 February 1952) is an English deaf scholar, author, activist and researcher of deaf culture. Ladd was a lecturer and MSc Coordinator (MSc in Deaf Studies to approx 2007, then after a brief pause, MSc in Deafhood Studies 2009) a ...

, popularised the term "

", which Ladd had coined in 1990.

Research

Research at the Centre fell into five areas: the language, linguistics and literature of

sign language Sign languages (also known as signed languages) are languages that use the visual-manual modality to convey meaning, instead of spoken words. Sign languages are expressed through manual articulation in combination with #Non-manual elements, no ...

; acquisition of sign language; community and

deaf culture Deaf culture is the set of social beliefs, behaviors, art, literary traditions, history, values, and shared institutions of communities that are influenced by deafness and which use sign languages as the main means of communication. When used as ...

, known as "

cognition Cognition is the "mental action or process of acquiring knowledge and understanding through thought, experience, and the senses". It encompasses all aspects of intellectual functions and processes such as: perception, attention, thought, ...

and

psychology Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Its subject matter includes the behavior of humans and nonhumans, both consciousness, conscious and Unconscious mind, unconscious phenomena, and mental processes such as thoughts, feel ...

; and the applications of technology, such as

videotelephony Videotelephony (also known as videoconferencing or video calling) is the use of audio signal, audio and video for simultaneous two-way communication. Today, videotelephony is widespread. There are many terms to refer to videotelephony. ''Vide ...

and

e-learning Educational technology (commonly abbreviated as edutech, or edtech) is the combined use of computer hardware, software, and educational theory and practice to facilitate learning and teaching. When referred to with its abbreviation, "EdTech" ...

. An audio-visual phone went on trial with the

Avon and Somerset Police Avon and Somerset Police is the territorial police force responsible for law enforcement in the five unitary authority areas of Bristol, Bath and North East Somerset, North Somerset, Somerset, and South Gloucestershire, all in South West Engla ...

Courses and services

The centre was an innovator in education. In 1981, it offered the first university-level certificate course in BSL for professionals. In 1985, it started a diploma course, social science in deaf studies. This was followed in 1987 by a part-time course in sign language interpretation, which became full-time in 1990. In 1992, the centre established the earliest full-time, university-level training programme for Deaf people to be taught in sign language. In 1993, a Diploma of Higher Education was established, the earliest undergraduate course on deaf studies in the UK, and in 1999, the first BSc and MSc in deaf studies followed.

Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, the most populous city in the region. Built around the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by t ...

was one of a handful of universities in the UK to offer an undergraduate degree in deaf studies. In May 2010, the university announced plans to close the undergraduate course as part of a drive to save £15 million. The campaign against this focussed on the lack of justice in targeting staff and students with particular needs, and the aggressiveness of the university's approach to the CDS, led by the Dean, Dr Judith Squires. There were accusations that her Faculty saved other units only by sacrificing the CDS. The shutdown of the programme was successful and the last students from the undergraduate degree graduated in 2013. The Centre offered until recently taught postgraduate courses: a certificate and diploma in deaf studies, and an MSc in Deaf Studies. The centre also offered a range of short courses, including BSL, BSL interpreting and Deafhood studies. Deafstation, a daily news service in BSL, was run by the centre.

Staff

In 2012, close to closure, the centre's director was Sandra Smith. The Harry Crook Professor in Deaf Studies was Jim Kyle, who was at Bristol for over 20 years and is a leading expert on Deaf policy. Other researchers included a Reader, Dr

, a lecturer, Dr Sarah Batterbury, and several researchers. The majority of teaching staff were Deaf.University of Bristol: Centre for Deaf Studies: About the Centre
(accessed 12 May 2010) In late 2012, the academic staff were offered part-time contracts only, or redundancy - to take effect in 2013. All accepted redundancy, except Prof. Kyle. The Deaf community accused Bristol University of trying to close the Centre through staff attrition; by shutting the undergraduate degree, they were able to claim that few staff were needed for teaching.

Closure

The university stopped admitting students in 2013. University Council passed a resolution with only a vote of dissent. CDS' closure was the first event in a double-shock for Bristol's Deaf community. The very next day, Bristol Deaf Club (an organisation not connected to the CDS, but attended by many CDS staff and the hub for the Bristol Deaf community) announced that it was selling its building to the Elim church

References

{{authority control University of Bristol Deafness organisations based in the United Kingdom Cultural studies organizations Organizations established in 1978 Deaf studies 1978 establishments in England