204 Deaf Epistemologies, Identity, and Learning
moment in her childhood, after her arrival in Belgium, when she and her family
entered a toy shop. She saw the most beautiful toys, but she felt so sad when she
learned that the dolls she wanted to take home to play with were out of reach for her
and her family because of their constrained financial means. The dolls were there,
very close, but she could only look. Was this the long-expected freedom? Learning
that none of the dolls would be hers?
This scenario touches on the difference between what Charles Taylor (2007)
calls “opportunity,” that is, the theoretical or abstract possibility of the doll that is
available in the store, and “exercise,” the real and concrete act of playing with it.
In the capability approach, Martha Nussbaum (2011) makes a distinction between
“capability”and “functioning” to focus on what people actually can be and do. Ges-
cinska writes, “It is in the transition from what is to what could be, that man real-
izes himself, conquers his freedom, and gives meaning to his existence” (p. 111).
I view my uphill battle to obtain a doctorate as a struggle, and perhaps a victory,
for this transition and realization of possibilities—if I hadn’t tried to do it, I would
probably never have found out if I could. For me, there was life-giving meaning in
this realization.^16
In the end, although there was little room for them in my academic context,
collective deaf community resources, family, friends, and members of my personal
community made a significant contribution to my fulfillment of the requirements
for a doctorate, which led to the publication of my research papers in Web of Sci-
ence journals and my graduation.
In this final stage, it was important to nurture a sense of patience, gratitude for
what I had been able to learn, and acceptance toward those who seemed to thwart
my goals. Just like the people I had interviewed, I found inspiration in the lives
and work of Gandhi and Mandela, although taking a compassionate stance will be
a lifelong practice that is sometimes difficult in an academic world in which it is a
challenge to achieve equity and equality as a deaf female scholar.
It was this position that I wanted to take during my doctoral defense. Since my
thesis had been written in English and professor Don Moores was participating in
the examination committee via webcam, I defended in ASL with two international
interpreters. A deaf interpreter translated from ASL into Flemish Sign Language.
Because it was the first time a doctorate was defended in sign language in Belgium,
I had had to advocate for the provision of international interpreters, not just for their
presence, but also for the associated funding. I also had to seek an exception in the
examination procedure for a sign language defense. (The official procedure only
recognized two languages, Dutch and English.) The presence of professor Moores
was helpful in invoking the “can do” spirit of Gallaudet during the defense; yerker
Andersson also afforded moral support by following my doctoral defense online.
I opened my presentation by thanking all those in attendance for their continuous
support during my doctoral studies. I was prepared for further challenges, and during
the defense some of the bias I had faced during my studies became visible in the- This theme of deaf students being able to actualize their dreams is also discussed in Chapter 1,
“What is a Good Life? Toward a Framework of Deaf Flourishing.”