Baynton will discuss his most recent book, Through Deaf Eyes: A Photographic History of an American Community (2007), Noon-1 p.m. Feb. 13 in the Centennial Building’s Special Collections Reading Room, 402 Iowa Avenue, in Iowa City. The event is free and the public is invited to bring a brown bag lunch.

Through Deaf Eyes is the companion volume to an acclaimed PBS television documentary based on a landmark photographic exhibition at the Smithsonian Institution in 2001.

Baynton teaches history and American Sign Language at the University of Iowa, where his research and teaching explore how cultural meanings of disabilities have changed over time regarding nativism, eugenics, racial stereotyping, gender roles and ideas of progress and decline, civilization and nature.

He also wrote Forbidden Signs: American Culture and the Campaign Against Sign Language (Chicago, 1996) and is currently writing a book on the history of the concept of “defective persons” in American immigration policy.

“History for Lunch” speakers for March, April and May will be announced as they are confirmed.

The State Historical Society of Iowa is a division of the Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs, and is a trustee of Iowa’s historical legacy and an advocate for understanding Iowa’s past. It identifies, records, collects, preserves, manages and provides access to Iowa’s historical resources. Its dual mission of preservation and education serves Iowans of all ages, conducts and stimulates research, disseminates information, and encourages and supports historical preservation and education efforts of others throughout the state. Visit www.iowahistory.org or call 515-281-5111 for more information.

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