Reflections of a Deaf Scholar 181
before, and I asked them: How do you do this and that? I copied from them,
followed the same way.The experiences of Johan remind me of my own process of consciousness raising,
arising from a process which was inspired not only by deaf peers who had studied
in the United States (see further in this chapter), but also through reading.^6 Deaf
in America: Voices from a Culture (padden & Humphries, 1988) was one of the books
that I read when I was a master’s student in Belgium, and I found the deaf culture
concept and the description of consciousness-raising in the American deaf commu-
nity very appealing and life changing at the time. The concept indeed provided a
“promise” of alternative life trajectories, of deaf ways of life.
I was fascinated by the book’s description of the “tale” of the French abbot (abbé)
Charles-Michel de l’Épée and the origins of the deaf community, which is related
in Chapter 6 and briefly repeated here for convenience. One part of the story par-
ticularly resonated with me: One stormy evening, as Abbé de l’Épée was wandering
through the dark streets of paris, he got lost. Searching for shelter, he followed a
light coming from somewhere far away. It guided him toward a house where two
girls were sewing by firelight. When he discovered that the girls were deaf, he real-
ized that it was his vocation to teach deaf children. (Although the history of Flemish
deaf schools and the Flemish deaf community is tied to the French tradition, at the
time the story did not circulate in the Flemish deaf community as it did in France.)
In one of my first papers as a master’s degree student, I referred to the movement
of darkness to light in the legend of de l’Épée and the two deaf girls. The journey
symbolized the initiation of deaf schools, which ended the isolated existence of
many deaf children. Across the world, sign languages and deaf communities have
emerged out of the continuous gathering of and interactions among deaf children
and deaf adults. The story remains relevant today—although it is important to take
into account the cross-cultural perspectives that document diverse development
paths of deaf people and sign language communities and to culturally situate the
story (which is done in Chapter 6). Light and warmth seem to be shared elements
in human lives—see, for example, the theme of lights in celebrations and festivals
across the globe (Churchwell, 2011).
The story of de l’Épée and the deaf children, like the story of Johan earlier in this
chapter, is in some way also my story, symbolizing my own journey of light, warmth,
and “deaf family.” Although I look back on my childhood and youth as happy periods,
these times were also overshadowed by a lack of information on deafness and sign
language, a lack of contact with deaf people, and an absence of awareness. I have come
to view my personal trajectory of empowerment as a continuing journey. Although
I have often told my life story or parts of it to friends and research colleagues, I only
wrote it down for the first time during the postgraduate coaching and counseling- For further discussion of the quest for deaf identity and the role of biographies and deaf heroes/
heroines in identity (trans)formation, also see Chapter 6 (sections titled “The Quest for Deaf Identity
and Deaf Studies: Introducing Desire” and “The Quest for Deaf Identity and Deaf Studies: Cracks in
the Mirror”).