68 Deaf Epistemologies, Identity, and Learning
my sisters, can go to university, and so can he: That is possible there through
an interpreter!” Deep, deep, deep about deaf culture, education, sign lan-
guage courses for kids and adults. And a lot more. I threw my problems away,
and I took a new identity!
Then there was another lecturer, Knut Sondergaard. He also lectured
for two, three hours. oh, my mind went open, but then I was so tired that
I could hardly keep my eyes open. But when it was done, they all said, “oh,
good, good!” But I was quiet, calm. I went to bed. I got up, and suddenly I was
strong. A bomb had exploded! That, that...
I would like to change those things when I am back in Belgium! Things
have to be the same as in Denmark: strong! More and more, my deaf aware-
ness grew. I was already 25 when I started to become more aware. I had gone
abroad, and I felt, “We have to do that and that and that!” But the other
deaf had stayed in Belgium. “you all have to go!” [Talking to me, Goedele
de Clerck:] Just like you have been to Gallaudet. Then they would grow too!
They noticed that was strong. I had exploded; they, not yet.The term empowerment has been interpreted in many ways and has become
popular (at least in the United States), yet how the term is used is not always clear
( Chamberlin, 1997). Most writers stress the “process of helping people gaining con-
trol over their own lives” (Pease, 2002, p. 29). Adams (cited in Pease, 2002, p. 29)
defines empowerment as “the means by which individuals, groups, and/or commu-
nities become able to take control of their circumstances and achieve their goals.”
Deaf people become more empowered when they have more opportunities to make
choices (Fosshaug, 2004). Jankowski stresses the agency of oppressed groups. She
defines empowerment as “a process through which a marginalized group alters the
distribution of power between itself and the dominant culture” (1997, p. 6). In her
quest of “a working definition for empowerment,” Chamberlin (1997, p. 43) found
that empowerment has both an individual and a group dimension: “Empowerment
does not occur to the individual alone, but has to do with experiencing a sense of
connectedness with other people” (p. 45; see also van Hove & Roets, 2000).
Key factors in empowerment are “access to information, ability to make choices,
assertiveness, and self-esteem” (Chamberlin, 1997, p. 43). Fosshaug (2004) observes
that “empowerment on the societal level increases when Deaf people have the possi-
bility of political influence in the majority society. Standing together as a group can
increase Deaf people’s influence” (p. 6). For Charlton (1998), empowerment leads to
more opportunities for people with disabilities: “Empowerment must translate into a
process of creating or acquiring power. When power is taken, it is taken from someone.
Someone loses” (pp. 122–123). Fosshaug (2004) quotes Lars Havstad, the 19th- century
norwegian who was the first deaf person to attend university in norway: “Deaf people
are getting together not to isolate themselves, but to gather power and information for
life in a society where sounds and spoken languages are prevalent” (p. 6).
To highlight the meaning of “gather power and information,” I prefer to draw
upon Pease’s (2002) reconstruction of empowerment as “the insurrection of [deaf]