Uploaded August 2022 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Bonni, Elizabeth, Herring, Rachel E., Rodrigues, Jeni, & Swabey, Laurie. (2022). A Place at the Table? Reflections on the Past, Present, and Future of Signed Language Interpreter Education in the United States. In Laurie Swabey & Rachel E. Herring (Eds.), SIGNED LANGUAGE INTERPRETING PEDAGOGY: INSIGHTS AND INNOVATIONS FROM THE CONFERENCE OF INTERPRETER TRAINERS (pp. 439-452). Gallaudet University Press.
https://gupress.gallaudet.edu/Books/S/Signed-Language-Interpreting-Pedagogy
****This video may not be repurposed or incorporated into other works in any way without the express written consent of the signer and the chapter authors.****
The following is an ASL summary of the chapter titled “A Place at the Table? Reflections on the Past, Present, and Future of Signed Language Interpreter Education in the United States,” by Elizabeth Bonni, Rachel Herring, Jeni Rodrigues, and Laurie Swabey.
As we consider CIT’s 40-year history, we find ourselves pausing to reflect on the past, present, and future of interpreter education. Forty years ago, a small group of interpreting educators came together to form CIT. Realizing they each faced similar challenges, they decided to join forces, bringing their collective knowledge and expertise to provide support for interpreter educators. As we considered those early conversations, we saw many of the issues they faced then are similar to those we find ourselves confronting today.
This chapter is an afterword to this volume. We want to begin by expressing our gratitude to each of the contributors to this volume. Thank you to each of the original authors and to the new authors who have joined the project. Thank you for bringing your perspectives. We appreciate each of you.
We began to write this chapter in May of 2020. As we considered how we might conclude this volume, the world was struck by two earth-shattering events that altered our daily realities. First, the murder of George Floyd sparked protests that erupted throughout the world. Second, the COVID-19 pandemic exacted a toll on people’s emotional, mental, economic, and physical well-being and resulted in the deaths of many. These events also had an impact on us and our approach to this chapter.
While we worked on this chapter and discussed the past and future, we noticed that many of the founding members who constructed the table and invited others to the table, were white, hearing women. Throughout the past 40 years of CIT publications, many of the articles were also written by white, hearing women. We wanted to recognize that there are many contributors to the field that are not represented in the CIT Proceedings. As well, we recognized more deeply the persistence of racism, marginalization, exclusion, as well as audism within our field.
As part of our process of reflection, we committed to inviting and interviewing additional educators to share their views on the past, present, and future of interpreter education. We gratefully acknowledge their willingness to participate, and their contributions to the content of this chapter. Their names are listed in the chapter.
These interviews revealed a tension between positive gains and pervasive experiences of disappointment, particularly related to audism and racism. It is their stories and experiences that are centered in this chapter with a focus on three particularly salient topics: deaf-centered interpreter education, race and diversity in interpreter education, and interpreting program curricula.
We conclude that the field of interpreter education, and CIT, must undertake a real, radical re-examination and transformation of our institutions and practice.
Bonni, Elizabeth, Herring, Rachel E., Rodrigues, Jeni, & Swabey, Laurie. (2022). A Place at the Table? Reflections on the Past, Present, and Future of Signed Language Interpreter Education in the United States. In Laurie Swabey & Rachel E. Herring (Eds.), SIGNED LANGUAGE INTERPRETING PEDAGOGY: INSIGHTS AND INNOVATIONS FROM THE CONFERENCE OF INTERPRETER TRAINERS (pp. 439-452). Gallaudet University Press.
https://gupress.gallaudet.edu/Books/S/Signed-Language-Interpreting-Pedagogy
****This video may not be repurposed or incorporated into other works in any way without the express written consent of the signer and the chapter authors.****
The following is an ASL summary of the chapter titled “A Place at the Table? Reflections on the Past, Present, and Future of Signed Language Interpreter Education in the United States,” by Elizabeth Bonni, Rachel Herring, Jeni Rodrigues, and Laurie Swabey.
As we consider CIT’s 40-year history, we find ourselves pausing to reflect on the past, present, and future of interpreter education. Forty years ago, a small group of interpreting educators came together to form CIT. Realizing they each faced similar challenges, they decided to join forces, bringing their collective knowledge and expertise to provide support for interpreter educators. As we considered those early conversations, we saw many of the issues they faced then are similar to those we find ourselves confronting today.
This chapter is an afterword to this volume. We want to begin by expressing our gratitude to each of the contributors to this volume. Thank you to each of the original authors and to the new authors who have joined the project. Thank you for bringing your perspectives. We appreciate each of you.
We began to write this chapter in May of 2020. As we considered how we might conclude this volume, the world was struck by two earth-shattering events that altered our daily realities. First, the murder of George Floyd sparked protests that erupted throughout the world. Second, the COVID-19 pandemic exacted a toll on people’s emotional, mental, economic, and physical well-being and resulted in the deaths of many. These events also had an impact on us and our approach to this chapter.
While we worked on this chapter and discussed the past and future, we noticed that many of the founding members who constructed the table and invited others to the table, were white, hearing women. Throughout the past 40 years of CIT publications, many of the articles were also written by white, hearing women. We wanted to recognize that there are many contributors to the field that are not represented in the CIT Proceedings. As well, we recognized more deeply the persistence of racism, marginalization, exclusion, as well as audism within our field.
As part of our process of reflection, we committed to inviting and interviewing additional educators to share their views on the past, present, and future of interpreter education. We gratefully acknowledge their willingness to participate, and their contributions to the content of this chapter. Their names are listed in the chapter.
These interviews revealed a tension between positive gains and pervasive experiences of disappointment, particularly related to audism and racism. It is their stories and experiences that are centered in this chapter with a focus on three particularly salient topics: deaf-centered interpreter education, race and diversity in interpreter education, and interpreting program curricula.
We conclude that the field of interpreter education, and CIT, must undertake a real, radical re-examination and transformation of our institutions and practice.
