Challenge of “Serious” Scholarship 125
A stance of “humility of knowing” and “uncertainty of knowledge” (Dei, 2010,
p. 105) with openness for multiple perspectives is called for. Scientific knowledge
is partial, situated, and fallible; it is preferred wherever it is possible and whenever
it is relevant (Verstraete & Pinxten, 2009). However, scientific knowl edge cannot
replace the daily knowledge of taking care of a baby, growing cassava, or visual and
gestural ways of communication to sell vegetables or shoes on the market. Cam-
eroonian deaf knowledge, philosophy of life, and practice, such as agency through
the concept of being serious, can be strengthened by scientific research.
Complementing fundamental research with a solution-oriented approach and a
practice of partnership among scholars, NGOs, and deaf communities has been
crucial in meeting some of the needs of deaf community development (De Clerck
& Lutalo-Kiingi, 2011). Several questions merit further attention in scholarship and
praxis:• How can opportunities be fostered for all deaf people to live up to their poten-
tial and flourish?
• How can indigenous knowledge, indigenous deaf knowledge, and indigenous
spoken and signed languages be included in formal education?
• How can local initiatives by deaf leaders and local systems of social security be
supported?Describing deaf indigenous practices using a bottom-up research method contrib-
utes to a cross-cultural perspective in deaf studies and deaf education. The case
study of the Cameroonian deaf community documents the development of a young
deaf community and a young sign language: Deaf gatherings, the extended family
meta phor, and the notion of being serious are tools that enable deaf Cameroonians
both to manage life and to imagine the future. These conceptual tools provide an
alternative and complementary view of the notions of deaf community, deaf episte-
mology, and the global claim in concepts such as “a global deaf renaissance.”