Deaf: Cultures and Communication, 1600 to the Present is a Yale Medical Library online exhibit. It highlights (d/D)eaf history and the many items in our special collections that illuminate aspects of the history of communication, signing, and education. Click on the image below to be redirected to the exhibit.
When searching in our collections for older materials — whether you are searching an online archive or our ordinary article databases — keep in mind that some materials may only be discoverable using outdated terminology, as search relies on OCR (optical character recognition) to render texts. In addition, the names of many Deaf education institutions have changed over the past several centuries, often at the same time that vocabulary changes happen in society at large.
Keep in mind that Articles+ also has a newspapers and magazines filter, which can be useful for searching multiple online collections at the same time. We also have robust history-related research guides (go up to "Yale University Library Research Guides" and browse the history categories) if you want to dive deeper.
Yale's special collections include many resources that are relevant to the Deaf community and Deaf education in Connecticut (and the United States in general). Descriptions here have been taken from the Yale Finding Aid document for each collection.
To access special collections on your own, please consult this guide that walks you through the request process.