Featured Faculty

Dr. Hill focuses on the language attitudes in the American deaf community and the African American socio-linguistic and historical aspects of American Sign Language.

His research interests are the African American socio-historical and -linguistic aspects of American Sign Language and the language attitudes and ideologies about signing varieties in the American Deaf community. His contributions include the Gallaudet University Press volumes, The Hidden Treasure of Black ASL: Its History and Structure (2011) which he co-authored with Carolyn McCaskill, Ceil Lucas, and Robert Bayley and Language Attitudes in the American Deaf Community (2012). Following The Hidden Treasure, Dr. Hill is currently conducting an ethnographic study of multi-generational Black Deaf families in the United States. The study is to address the gap in the family research literature on the communication, educational, and social contexts of African-American deaf and hard-of-hearing families. Over 15 families were interviewed in American Sign Language by Dr. Hill and his Gallaudet University colleague, Dr. Carolyn McCaskill, and the interviews were videorecorded and then later transcribed in English. The video transcripts are currently reviewed by deaf and hearing student assistants to ensure the accuracy of the transcription before doing a qualitative analysis.

The purpose of such analysis is to discover common themes related to communication, education, and social contexts that may be unique at the intersection of race and deafness for the Black Deaf families. Dr. Hill believes that researchers must apply their intersectional lens to understand the social and educational issues affecting the diverse population of deaf and hard of hearing people whose lives are continually de ned by their identities and their backgrounds.

Joseph C. Hill
Assistant Professor
National Technical Institute for the Deaf