Download or read book Significant Gestures written by John Tabak and published by Praeger. This book was released on 2006-09-30 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Tabak has created a fascinating exploration of Deaf culture in America. The story begins during the first half of the 19th century when a small number of individuals introduced a language for the Deaf into North America and developed an educational system in which to use it. Out of these schools came members of a new American social class, the Deaf--with a capital D--who created institutions through which they could participate in American society on terms equal to those of other constituent groups. This proved extremely controversial-- among all but the Deaf. The controversy lasted a century, during which time American Sign Language evolved along racial lines and in response to the pressures of those who sought to eliminate the use of American Sign Language.