Academy to record life histories of former students
The life stories of past Academy students are to be preserved thanks to a grant of over £40,000 from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF). The Academy will record the life histories of former students in British Sign Language. It will then create materials for school lessons so that deaf and hearing children can learn more about the lives of deaf people over the last century. It will also produce exhibition materials to be displayed in companies in the city so that employees can learn more about the lives of deaf people.
The funding will be used to produce a DVD, an exhibition stand, a website link and a school curriculum. These resources will be used to provide an insight into the history of the Academy and Deaf history in Exeter.
Jonathan Farnhill, Chief Executive said: “Deaf people who use sign language often struggle with literacy and as a result their life experiences are not written down, and so not preserved. This project addresses this by videoing the life histories in sign language. Deaf people have been described as the most marginalised group in our society, with far higher levels of sickness, unemployment and mental health problems than the general population, often due to the social isolation they can experience. This social isolation often means that the wider society does not understand the difficulties they face nor how they can enable deaf people to take a full and active part in our society. This project is a small but important step in addressing this problem.”
The project will result in a tangible record of deaf history in Exeter, with a particular focus on people’s experiences of life at the Academy. As the life histories will be recorded in British Sign Language (BSL) they will be accessible to people who use BSL as their first language. Five key themes will be followed through the life histories: Education, Language, Employment, The Community and Relationships with Hearing People.
Lori Fox, the Project Manager, said the project will have a real impact on the lives of deaf people. “The project will raise awareness of Deaf history and Deaf culture. This will benefit people in the Deaf community who will be able to take pride in their past and shared culture. Recording changing values and practices will enable us to understand why and how the values of the Deaf community change”.
The project will also help to raise Deaf awareness locally, with local employers and local schools being more informed about Deaf issues and the plans to build the new deaf Academy in the city. A custom made exhibition will be developed for the displays at local large employers. This will feature footage of the recordings of the life histories which will be subtitled.
Schools will benefit from Deaf awareness materials that will be specifically designed to fit in with the National Curriculum. This will be a key feature of encouraging schools to use the materials and raise Deaf awareness issues with their pupils.