Project of an agricultural colony for the deaf : a deaftopia in 19th-century france?

Abstract

In 1870, ten years before the well-known Second International Congress on Education of the Deaf in Milan, Joseph Théobald, one of the four deaf teachers present, explains the reasons why the creation of an agricultural colony for the deaf would be a relevant project to be implemented with the support of the Society of Education and Aid for Deaf-Mutes in France. The objective of this work is to offer a listening ear to Théobald’s demands in his project, analyzing the historical (political, social, educational) context of 19th-century France which allowed the emergence of a proposal that, today, would certainly still be impactful: the creation of an agricultural colony for the deaf. The methodology consists of discourse analysis of the primary historical source - Projet d'une colonie agricole de sourds-muets - and a discussion of this text in relation to the historical processes that occurred in the 19th century, especially in France. Furthermore, in the light of research on Deaftopia, integrating Deaf Studies, Culture Studies, and Utopian Studies, this research seeks to understand the outlines of Théobald's life and work as a potential manifestation of Deaftopia. The study’s scope mainly considers the initiatives made by deaf people to be able to live and to be deaf.