Philanthropy and Deafness in Wales, 1847–1914. (1st December 2014)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Mantin, Mike
• Is Part Of: Welsh history review. Volume 27:Number 2(2014)
• Page Start: 282
• Page End: 309
• Publication Date: 2014-12-01
• Subjects: Wales -- History -- Periodicals; Histoire -- Périodiques; Wales; History; Periodicals; 942.9005
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0043-2431

Abstract

Most deaf institutions that were established in the nineteenth century operated on a voluntary basis, relying on charitable donations to survive. These institutions, and thus the deaf pupils who were educated in them, were drawn into the discourses of nationality, gender and religion which came with their reliance on an interconnected local philanthropic elite. This article examines how the Cambrian Institution for the Deaf and Dumb in Swansea – Wales's first deaf institution – took part in these philanthropic debates, explores the specific Welsh dimension to them and examines how its methods of philanthropy created a distinctive construction of deafness.