Deaf Flourishing 11
for an individual, community, society, and the world as a whole” (Mathews & Izqui-
erdo, 2010, p. 5). This is related to the sociocultural perspective of learning, which
views human beings as learners in multiple historical, social, cultural, and politi-
cal contexts (see later section in this chapter; also see Chapter 4 and De Clerck &
Pinxten, 2016). From this perspective, deaf identity is a complex process learned by
interacting with changing cultural contexts and practices in the multiple commu-
nities in which deaf people participate (De Clerck & Pinxten, 2012a, 2016; Rogoff,
2003); indeed, it is this notion that, above all, connects the stories presented in this
book. Thus, deaf identity formation is viewed here from the vantage point of global
21st-century citizenship, with a focus on global-local flows and power hierarchies.TRAnSITIonS In DEAF LIvES AnD CoMMUnITIES
In TIMES oF EMoTIon
Contemporary life has become highly diversified, globalized, and urbanized. We in-
creasingly come into contact with individuals from diverse backgrounds who have
developed various worldviews, lifestyles, and values and who have formulated dif-
ferent answers to existential and societal questions. Human lives and identities are
being constructed in complex settings in which we have become increasingly inter-
dependent. In his 2009 book, The Geopolitics of Emotion: How Cultures of Fear, Humili-
ation, and Hope are Reshaping the World, Dominique Moïsi discusses the transition of
the 20th century into the 21st century, which can be viewed as a “century of identity”:In the ideological atmosphere of the 20th century, the world was defined
by conflicting political models: socialism, fascism, and capitalism. In today’s
world, ideology has been replaced by the struggle for identity. In the age of
globalization, when everything and everybody are connected, it is important
to assert one’s individuality: “I am unique, I am different, and, if necessary, I
am willing to fight until you recognize my existence.” A Slovak is not a Czech,
and a citizen of Montenegro is not a Serb. In a world dominated by identity,
we are defined less by our political beliefs and ideas than by the perception
of our essence, by the confidence we gain from our achievements and the
respect we receive from others or by the lack thereof. (p. 14)Confounded by the complexity of today’s world, people are tempted to emphasize
differences with others and to be guided primarily by their emotions. To resist this,
Moïsi (2009) argues that it is crucial to gain an understanding of the collective emo-
tions and cultural histories of ourselves and others. The “information age” (Castells,
1996) has planted a seed for “a more transparent world, in which the poor are
no longer ignorant of the world of the rich and the rich have lost their privilege
of denial” (Moïsi, 2009, p. 13). Moïsi distinguishes three titular emotions to help
us derive an understanding of geopolitical interaction: “Fear against hope, hope
against humiliation, humiliation leading to sheer irrationality and even, sometimes,
to violence—one cannot comprehend the world in which we live without examining
the emotions that help to shape it” (2009, p. xi). He asserts that a change in cultural