Now online: digital learning tool "The right to use sign language – the emancipation movement for the deaf"
A research team at Bern University is looking into the history of deaf people in Switzerland. In particular, they are trying to find out the extent to which the hearing-impaired were subject to coercive welfare measures.
The results of the study are now available online in an interactive learning tool (in German and French). It is the fruit of a cooperative venture between the University of Bern and the Bern University of Applied Sciences. The digital learning tool spotlights the history of the Swiss deaf persons' movement from the 1980s on. Based on interviews with hearing-impaired activists and on other selected sources, it shows how deaf people were discriminated against and recounts their struggle for recognition. As well as collating and making available the research work done in this field to date, this digital learning tool provides many pointers to future investigations. It also addresses current demands of hearing-impaired people and explains them in the historical context.
A quiz at the end encourages users to consolidate their knowledge in a fun way and recapitulates the main points.