Deaf Identity Revisited 171
the West. Through dynamically and sustainably dealing with deaf heritage and iden-
tity, a diversity of collective resources can be made meaningful for signers in their
local contexts and in the diaspora. Scientifically, these resources may provide a space
of relocation for deaf studies. For another description of a “second birth” tale, see
Chapter 8, which documents storytelling and identity in the Cameroonian deaf
community.
Therefore, it is crucial that a wide range of stories and forms of deaf identity be-
come available for cracks in the mirror and for composing spaces of becoming:If assumptions are to be shattered, they must be shattered by deaf people
themselves; hearing people cannot take on the task, missionary-like on their
behalf. Deaf people must persist in their efforts to tell, write, show, illustrate,
film, construct, and distribute their stories in whatever medium they can apply
for whatever audience they can find. (McDonald, 2010, p. 168)While the story of Epée and the archetypical pilgrim or missionary may continue to
inspire deaf identity quests in search of belonging and destiny, the archetype of the
nomad will call for open futures in multiple forms of belonging. After all, “while a
story results from every life, no life can result from a story” (Cavarero, 2000, p. 144).
Thus, different tales of community birth will emerge on the horizon, as well as
endless “second births” of deaf citizens, for the birth is in the regaling of the story.CONCLUSION
I am writing this chapter in a time of change, with a European crisis of identity
and an overwhelming need for courage and reflexivity in formulating collective
identity responses to challenges of migration, transnational mobility, social welfare,
economic turmoil, threats of terror, and other global risks that have affected other
parts of the world even more strongly (Beck, 2015). Europe is still coming to terms
with the cracks in its mirror of universalism (Pinxten, 2006), its pieces as testimonies
of others’ voices, difference, and postcolonial decentralization (Braidotti, 2006). It
is now a Europe in need of reflection in this process of cosmopolitanization (Beck,
2015) and uncertainty (Bauman, 2007).
This movement of globalization is tied to the mobilization and politicization of
identities around the world (Appadurai, 2003), giving rise to autochthony, with a
vague promise of “natural” belonging that brings risk for undefined “others”—as
the counterpoint of the Other may change at any time (Ceuppens & Geschiere,
2005). Sen (2007, p. 17) argues that current movements of identity have overlooked
the human predicament of plurality:Perhaps the worst impairment comes from the neglect—and denial—of the
role of reasoning and choice, which follows from the recognition of our plural
identities. The illusion of unique identity is much more divisive than the uni-
verse of plural and diverse classifications that characterize the world in which
we actually live. The descriptive weakness of choiceless singularity has the
effect of momentously impoverishing the power and reach of our social and
political reasoning. The illusion of destiny exacts a remarkable heavy price.