20 Deaf Epistemologies, Identity, and Learning
debate, and hybrid learning. This book endeavors to contribute to such space by
spotlighting co-created opportunities for participation in diverse life spheres across
multiple communities. The vignettes refer to the inclusive and energetic citizenship
of individuals eager to exploit chances to build critical thought, dialogical skills, and
empathic capacity. Ultimately these are the tools that enable citizens to reach the
shared understanding necessary to solve problems in a diversified landscape.
Such aspects of deaf flourishing have often been overshadowed by debates about
enhancement, biotechnology, and genetic screening, which receive far more re-
search funding and public attention. Fortunately, a nascent recognition of deaf in-
digenous practices of knowledge may become increasingly empowering for future
generations as they shape solutions to the challenges in their lives.WHAT IS A GooD LIFE? ToWARD A FRAMEWoRK
oF DEAF FLoURISHInG
Although culturally situated and diverse, the metaphor of “flourishing” seems to
occur in Western, non-Western, deaf/sign language, and mainstream contexts.
Human beings commonly use this kind of nature metaphor to articulate their
wishes for good and dignified lives.
What does it mean for deaf people and communities to flourish? The question
of deaf people’s flourishing includes constructs of identity, empowerment, develop-
ment, and well-being. I reflect upon the notion of deaf flourishing in this book from
an epistemological perspective; that is, a perspective of knowledge that is not only
constructed in scholarship but is also created and transmitted by deaf people in cul-
turally diverse ways. Therefore, gaining insight into the worldviews of marginalized
communities that have remained largely undocumented is necessary in achieving
social justice.
Epistemological discussions (e.g., Moores & Paul, 2010; Paul & Moores, 2012)
have begun to explore the viability of deaf epistemologies (i.e., deaf worldviews)
as an analytical tool for gaining insight into their lives and fostering their flour-
ishing (see further in Chapters 2 and 5). This calls for further exploration of deaf
knowledge and learning in sign language spaces and in relation to societies that are
reasonably inclusive and “decent” (e.g., Margalit, 1996; nussbaum, 2006; Sen, 2009)
and that more or less recognize indigenous knowledge. The epistemological stance
relates to all aspects of the research presented in this book (from the beginning of
a project, to its methodology and design, to the presentation and dissemination of
results; see also Paul & Moores, 2012).
However, it is recognized here that deaf identity dynamics are in fact situated at
the crossroads of epistemologies and ontology; i.e., knowing and being (Ledwith,
2012). How deaf people view the world is intertwined with their different ways of
being in the world. Furthermore, the narratives within this book hint at a shift at this
crossroads toward open-ended processes of becoming (Braidotti, 2011), which arises
from the “locality-specific” phenomenon of deaf awakening (i.e., the formation of
deaf cultural and political identities) in various continents and countries (Chapters
3, 4, 5, and 8). This book also delves into alternative processes of becoming that may