Ethnic Belonging and Deaf Identity in Romania
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- ISBN 9781666946284
- Weight: 440g
- Dimensions: 160 x 232mm
- Publication Date: 30 Apr 2026
- Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
- Publication City/Country: US
- Product Form: Hardback
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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.
Emese-Hajnalka Belényi is an assistant professor at Partium Christian University, Romania.
Gavril Flora is a professor at Partium Christian University, Romania.
