A Smashing Success! (Continued from page 1)
The topic of language preservation and dissemination was followed with a topic that focused on literacy. Dr.
Supalla of the University of Arizona discussed the importance of having ASL written down as a language, especially
in terms of teaching deaf children how to read. Some ideas on how English literacy can be taught through ASL were
presented along with data on deaf children's learning of reading skills. Dr. Byrne of Framingham State University
then gave a talk with an emphasis on how ASL possesses oral literature that is worthy of study. He reported that not
only are there hundreds of ASL literary pieces at large, Dr. Byrne also argued for the exceptional value associated
with these original works as compared to those translated from English. Some discussions were also made on how
ASL literature helps with developing deaf children's phonemic awareness and preparing them for reading in ASL.
Dr. Schlehofer of the Rochester Institute of Technology went on to argue how indispensable poetic analysis is
as a tool for ASL. The work of Clayton Valli was covered to demonstrate the importance of poetic analyses to
pursue interpretations based on the sensitivity of how signing performers view the world. Finally, I discussed the
topic of signed music with a number of important insights made. I presented some evidence that music in the signed
modality is real and should be analyzed through an ethnomusicological approach, meaning that music in general, is
heavily tied to its own culture. Western and eastern types of music were subject to review along with the music
performances of a number of signing performers.
Immediately after the symposium, Dr. Boudreault facilitated a town hall meeting with a panel of the symposium
participants. Attendees were able to ask questions about SASL as a new organization, and it was during that time
that the names of SASL’s elected officers were announced. This included the announcement that SASL was
officially recognized as a professional organization by the state of Maryland on September 11, 2015. At the same
time, SASL’s EC members explained that more work is still needed in the creation of bylaws, revisions of the
website, utilizing social media to disseminate information, and establishing a newsletter and an academic journal.
Lastly, the EC members notified the symposium attendees that they were automatically SASL members for a year
beginning January 2016.
The evening performance of Signed Music: A Symphonious Odyssey was a spectacular event where everyone
witnessed the birth of a new genre. I took the role of the Master of Ceremonies wearing a tuxedo and very white
gloves! A multimedia event with the use of signed music live performances and video performances was shown.
The latter part included a collection of signed music performances from 1902 to present day. The Fenicle brothers
(Ron, John, and Jonas of Indiana and Maryland), Pamela Witcher (from Montreal, Quebec, Canada), and Ian
Sanborn (of San Francisco, California) gave live performances, using ori