Full Description
While Deafness can function as a cultural-linguistic identity with its own language and community norms, Deaf individuals may belong simultaneously to other social groups while sharing a Deaf identity.
Throughout this work, Belenyi and Flora interpret Deafness and ethnicity through the lens of Social Identity Theory (SIT), which posits that individuals derive part of their self-concept from membership in social groups and predicts that group memberships shape self-concept and self-esteem. While SIT has its limitations, newer adaptations, such as self-categorization theory and identity process theory, allow for more nuanced interpretations. With a focus on Hungarian ethnic-minority Deaf people in Romania—and their partners and communities—the authors examine these insights to understand how Deaf people in Romania balance their ethnic and Deaf identities.
Deaf people in East-Central Europe, especially in the multi-ethnic context of Romania, inhabit overlapping minority worlds. Although nation-building policies often emphasize linguistic and ethnic homogeneity, in practice Hungarian-Romanian relations within Deaf families and communities can reveal unexpected cultural bridges. This book combines a theoretical synthesis of Deaf identity, culture, and ethnicity with empirical life-course research to shed new light on how Deaf and ethnic identities intersect.
Contents
List of Figures
List of Tables
Acknowledgements
Introduction
1. Interpretation models of Deafness
2. Deaf identities and cultures
3. Deafness and ethnicity
4. Deaf cultures and ethnic identities in Romania
5. Research methodology
6. Early childhood socialization
7. School Socialization
8. Deaf family language use and identity
9. Multigenerational ethnic minority/ethnically heterogeneous Deaf families
10. Community life, language use, and identity
Final remarks
References
Index
