Translated Deaf People Moving toward Emancipation 103
notions of empowerment can fortify culturally situated practices of empowerment
and agency, which are valuable for deaf people in multiple culture-specific localities.
International deaf people at Gallaudet may benefit from these frameworks. These
insights are also beneficial to any professionals working with deaf learners of diverse
backgrounds who are interacting in various cultural settings and development
contexts. A partial, situated deaf experience can stimulate deaf people to reflect on
their own perspectives, learn different views, and support each other in a contextu-
alized and self-reflexive “politics of empowerment” (Collins, 2000, p. 19).
Since this is a first and exploratory study, this topic should be examined in future
research that concentrates on both discourse and practice—a specific focus on the
intertwining of axes of difference is warranted.noTE
I was a visiting scholar at Gallaudet University from 2005 until May 2007. This re-
search was supported by Ghent University (B.o.F.), the Belgian American Educa-
tional Foundation (B.A.E.F.), the national Union in Support of Handicapped Peo-
ple (n.U.S.G), and a Gallaudet Research Institute Small Research Grant.