Key documents for Deaf communities: the Milan Congress, 1880

This documentary heritage consists of the records of an event of great significance for Deaf communities in many countries. The 2nd International Congress on Education of the Deaf (ICED) in Milan, Italy, in 1880, is seen as a watershed event in Deaf history. Among its resolutions was, ‘That the Oral method ought to be preferred to that of signs for the education and instruction of the deaf and dumb.’ The resolutions of this Congress impacted negatively on deaf people’s access to language and education in many countries, excluded deaf teachers from the profession, and contributed to the widespread devaluing of signed languages. The Congress in Milan has ongoing symbolic significance in international Deaf history. This submission nominates three original reports of the Milan Congress, in English, French and Italian. All were published soon after the Congress and are considered to be authentic records of the event. They reflect some of the emerging social and cultural movements of their time, such as the rise of social and linguistic Darwinism. The resolutions taken at Milan were eventually rejected by ICED in 2010.