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Writing as Material Practice: Substance, surface and medium

“…It is unclear if items such as this plate, whose design was registered in 1904, were produced for deaf children specifically, or if they were part of a campaign and were used by other children (Riley 1991: 120-121). In any case given the dominance of oralism at the time, such plates can in some respects be viewed as artefacts of 'resistance' (Frazer 1999), with members of the deaf community resisting the perceived wisdom of those exercising control over social and education policy. In some sense resistance is the opposite of regulation, although as this plate bears both sign language, which was disapproved of by the authorities, and also a Government imposed registration mark, the writing is comprised of elements from both on a single item.…”