This course explores the history of the deaf community in the United States. It offers a broad survey of American deaf history from the early 19th century to the late 20th century. Major events in American deaf history will be considered, including the foundation of schools for the deaf, the birth of American Sign Language, the emergence of deaf culture, the challenge of oralism, the threat of eugenics, and the fight for civil rights.

This course will provide an introduction for students to learn various types of qualitative research in the field of leadership, intersectionality, and accessibility. This course will involve hands-on experiences, developing research questions, interviewing, performing thematic analyses, and identifying vital components of a qualitative research study.

Students will conclude their study in the LEAD program by conducting a research project and developing a professional portfolio. The research proposal will investigate current issues in community development and inclusive leadership or another area of interest. Applying knowledge gained from their coursework and their completed experiential learning opportunity, students will develop, write, and present a research proposal. Students will also prepare themselves for future employment and/or continued education at the graduate level by designing a professional e- portfolio. This document will allow students to demonstrate the range of activities and assignments they have undertaken in the LEAD degree program.