Emese-Hajnalka Belenyi

Ethnic Belonging and Deaf Identity in Romania

While Deafness can function as a cultural–linguistic identity with its own language and community norms, Deaf individuals may belong simultaneously to other social groups while sharing a Deaf identity. Throughout this work, Belenyi and Flora interpret Deafness and ethnicity through the lens of Social Identity Theory (SIT), which posits that individuals derive part of their self-concept from membership in social groups and predicts that group memberships shape self-concept and self-esteem. While SIT has its limitations, newer adaptations, such as self-categorization theory and identity process theory, allow for more nuanced interpretations. With a focus on Hungarian ethnic-minority Deaf people in Romania—and their partners and communities—the authors examine these insights to understand how Deaf people in Romania balance their ethnic and Deaf identities. Deaf people in East-Central Europe, especially in the multi-ethnic context of Romania, inhabit overlapping minority worlds. Although nation-building policies often emphasize linguistic and ethnic homogeneity, in practice Hungarian–Romanian relations within Deaf families and communities can reveal unexpected cultural bridges. This book combines a theoretical synthesis of Deaf identity, culture, and ethnicity with empirical life-course research to shed new light on how Deaf and ethnic identities intersect.