Creating the ‘Other’

A Postgraduate Conference at the University of Essex, Department of History, 20 September 2011

Throughout history, there has been a recurrent theme of groups imagining others as apart, as fundamentally and irrevocably different and inferior, as ‘Other’. At intrapersonal, societal, and international levels, and governed by notions of, for example, class, gender, race/ethnicity, religion or patterns of consumption the tendency to define persons as beyond the boundaries of, or subordinate to, the community seems one which has been ever-present. These definitions have been continually utilised to seek legitimacy for discriminatory and exploitative social relationships. Such matters are of great interest to the historian, as to define what is ‘Other’ is also to define oneself in opposition to it; and the study of the creation of the ‘Other’ thus offers a means of discerning the self-conceptions of individuals and groups, and of the social and cultural forces and dynamics of power operating in specific historical contexts. This conference intends to explore these issues.

Possible questions/themes could include (though are by no means limited to):

·What is the ‘Other’?

·How has the ‘Other’ been constructed throughout the history?

·What purposes has the ‘Other’ served for individuals, groups and societies?

·How have these processes of ‘Othering’ differed in respect to gender, race, and class for example?

·What have been the results of these processes in history?

It is hoped that a selection of the papers from this conference will form part of a working papers series.

Paper proposals are welcomed in the form of a 300 word abstract with paper title, presenter’s name, affiliation and email address until 15 July 2011. Proposals should be submitted to history@essex.ac.uk.