Alterity

From Geography

Alterity is actually just the philosophical term for otherness and therefore closely connected with Othering. Alterity means being the other, switching your own perspective with another perspective. The relation between the present and the absent other (Soja, 1996). Someones identity never has very clear boundaries, constantly comparing oneself to others makes an identity constantly changing. 'Alterity not as a description of simple individual differences but as the systematized construction of classes of people'( Outside of philosophy the term alterity is mostly used in (cultural) anthropology. The concept alterity was established by Emmanuel Lévinas, he wrote a serie of essays classified under the titel Alterity and Transcendence (1999 [1970]).

The construction of alterity is more than just creating prejudices and stereotypes, there is a more complex process involved. First we create a group as the Other, this group is not fully human. Next we project the qualities we do not really like about ourselves onto this group. Actually assigning this constructed alterity on people makes them the Others. The final step in constructing alterity, is institutionalizing these prejudices in laws and customs. When laws and customs, or society, operates in a way as if these prejudices were true, the construction of alterity is complete.

References

Dickingson, E. (2012). Some notes on alterity. University Albany. Founded on 16 october, at http://www.albany.edu/~jej84/Dickinson/alterity.htm

Levinas, Emmanuel (1999[1970]) Alterity and Transcendence. (Trans. Michael B. Smith) Columbia University Press.

Soja, E,. (1996) Thirdspace: Journeys to Los Angeles and the other real-and- imagined places. Oxford: Blackwell pp52-82

Contributors

Published by Evelien de Beer & Richard Huttinga

Edited by Lotte den Boogert, 16 october 2012

Edited by Mathijs Lammers