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This paper intends to make an important contribution to the studies of religious utopianism by considering religions as comprehensive utopian systems which have an ontological and a social utopian mode. It argues that the ontological mode/utopia is related to human finality and that its fantastical content, abstractness and ontological Othering undermine the transformative powers of left religious social utopianism, while it encourages pernicious social Othering in religious fundamentalism. The article has four sections. In Section 1, it clarifies the definition of utopia on which the paper relies and the reasons for this particular choice. Section 2 discusses the religious ontological utopia and religions as utopian systems and utopian programs. Section 3 utilises E. Bloch's considerations about concrete and abstract utopias to explain the reasons for the incapacity of politically left orientated religious utopianism to function as a revolutionary force. Finally, the Section 4 discusses the way religious fundamentalism employs social Othering as a way of defending the universality of its ontological vision against competing religious and pseudo-religious universals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present paper examines Nadine Gordimer's The Conservationist (1974) in order to present a postcolonial reading of it in light of Homi K. Bhabha's ideas. It firstly discusses the significance of this novel and its narrative style, along with its context (Apartheid and the Zulu culture). Then it examines the central characters (Mehring and Jacobus) with the help of Bhabha's key concepts of hybridity and mimicry. The paper analyzes the relationship between the foreign white master, Mehring, and his native black servants, and underlines that the displaced colonial subjects (such as Jacobus) can, through mimicry, defy the oppression of imperial hegemony from within. In the text of Gordimer's novel we can witness the formation of new cultural hybrids. It is characteristic of Gordimer's fiction to reflect upon interactions between European and indigenous cultures. It is also argued that the funeral at the very end of the novel is in fact a transformation; for one, it brings about a change of focus and the readers shall end the novel bearing the memory of the black man in their minds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to explore how Afghanistan is represented in two mainstream Bollywood films from the pre-9/11 period using Orientalism as a theoretical framework. While much literature exists on Afghanistan being Orientalized in Hollywood films, Bollywood representations of Afghanistan have not been studied from similar critical lenses. With the recent takeover of Afghanistan by the Taliban after a twenty-year-long war, it is more urgent than ever today to examine Bollywood representations of Afghanistan given the crucial importance of India as a key geopolitical entity in the region. The paper shall study two films from the pre-9/11 period in order to understand if Bollywood has Orientalized the region like mainstream Hollywood films. Bollywood films well known for taking their influences from Hollywood productions, make it likely to be the case. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal for Religion in Education / Religionspädagogische Beiträge is the property of Arbeitsgemeinschaft Katholische Religionspadagogik & Katechetik (AKRK) and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The warnings about Turkey's not-so-near accession to the EU are explored as a strategic tool in the Brexit campaign, linking concerns about sovereignty and immigration compounded with the anxieties surrounding Islam and the threat of terrorism. Drawing on the theoretical framework of Edward Said's Orientalism and the unique perspectives gathered from British Turks, this paper sheds light on their nuanced responses. It uncovers strategies of disbelief and denial in the face of the constructed narrative that portrayed Turkey as an undesirable 'Other' with its predominantly Muslim population. A closer analysis of some British Turks' narratives is premised not only on the sacralised defence of the principles of Turkish westernisation but also on the socio-political reputation of the Islamic Ottoman past as almighty. The article equally contributes to a deeper understanding of the complex interplay between British national identity and discourses surrounding immigration, sovereignty, and Islamophobia within the context of Brexit, as well as the principles by which the privileges of modern, secular Turkey, as well as the demise of the mighty Ottoman image, are maintained. In a paradoxical manner, the act of denial only serves to affirm the Brexit campaign's narrative depicting Turkey as an undesirable 'Other' with a predominantly Muslim demographic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Religious Studies / Dini Araştırmalar is the property of Diyanet Isleri Baskanligi Yayinlari and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Discourses on social inequalities and the processes that sustain, reproduce, and reify them have been a long-standing area of scholarship. This paper focuses its attention on intersecting inequalities at workplaces and the organizational processes that support and enable their invisibilization. Building on this idea of invisibilization, we take a critical look at the active and conscious work done to keep inequalities hidden within organizations. In doing so, we understand and advance invisibilization as a twin concept that is primarily framed as a power equation but also acts as a visual illusion that obfuscates inequalities. We discuss this obfuscation by exploring intersectional inequalities within the Indian beauty and wellness services (BWS), a majorly unorganized sector that has a visible workforce of women migrants belonging to indigenous communities from the northeast region of the country. Using frameworks of Intersectionality, New Racism, and Othering, we argue that hiring within the BWS normalizes a heteropatriarchal-savarna gaze of the indigenous other, where women are routinely racialized and sexualized to be inducted within the industry. Further, this case study exemplifies how visible frames of gender inequalities invisibilize other ethno-racial, and regional inequalities within workplaces. Building on these findings, we suggest that organizations invisibilize inequalities by (a) co-opting a progressive vocabulary; (b) performing a normalizing function; (c) creating obfuscation; and (d) building a visual facade. Finally, this study contributes by broadening our theoretical understanding of invisibilization, especially in the context of intersectional inequalities, wherein inequalities are normalized through everyday practices within organizational hiring and training, among others. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Late capitalist imaginaries of Japan include characterisations of an insecure political economy with significant alterations to traditional norms, interpersonal relationships, and identities. Since Japan’s neoliberal reform in the 1990s an insidious narrative of the hikikomori, characterised by perceived personal failure, social reclusiveness, and mental illness, has become commonplace in the mediascape. This paper offers a discussion on othering as emerging in prevailing cultural and counter-cultural narratives of hikikomori, and in an attempt to challenge traditional orthodoxies around the individual and society, explores the opportunities provided by possible alternatives. In trying to unlock the complexity of self-reclusion, this paper argues that it is impossible to understand this phenomenon in normative terms and highlights the ways in which these manifestations of self as other are being contested and challenged in cultural media texts. In problematising the pre-eminence of a distinct set of narratives that interact to discursively frame hikikomori, our intention is not to add to the existing explanatory claims, but rather to offer alternate approaches for understanding the social location of hikikomori within the public imaginary. Hikikomori exists in a liminal space of public understanding and private experience of self; simultaneously socially integrated yet set apart from society. Its existence, or more specifically the social reactions to its existence, highlights a need for a reconfiguration of traditional notions of the individual and society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the face of globalization and diversity in the United Arab Emirates, the post-oil generation of Emiratis face unique challenges in navigating their cultural and national identities. Previously published research and scholarly works have engaged in complex discourse around Emirati identities, describing them as a population with similar genealogical backgrounds, ancestry, history, and cultural values. However, the element of heterogeneity among Emiratis remains highly under-examined. This research paper will examine the experiences of Emiratis with dual identities in the UAE, investigating their perceptions, attitudes, and narratives on being labeled as the "other" by their compatriots; exploring the spaces where hybrid Emiratis, locally known as "halfies", choose to reveal and conceal their multiplicity. In order to examine this complex socio-cultural phenomenon, semi-structured interviews with twenty Emiratis with twin identities were employed for this empirical study. The examination of the interviews uncovered the difficulties that individuals with mixed heritage encounter, as well as their strategies for overcoming these obstacles in order to find acceptance in a society that values a shared national identity. The research findings contribute to the scholarship of Emirati identity construction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper takes a multimodal approach to analyze both linguistic and non-linguistic resources represented in a Korean program, The Hymn of Death (2018), with an aim to discover how a multimodal discourse reshapes the way we perceive our society, especially women. The backdrop of this series is set in the 1920s in Korea. This period represents a transition toward modernity in which women were given the opportunity to study and work. This small group of young women were called 'new women.' With male-centered thumbnails and descriptions which are interlaced together in each episode, The Hymn of Death exhibits the patriarchal culture at the time when a new woman remains absent or invisible as an other. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper defines the practice of childhood sexual abuse (CSA) specifically, explaining the choice of words and giving accepted definitions, as well as offering a definition of its own, i.e. that CSA is the disempowering and overpowering of children through sexual means. The paper aims to give an overview of the societal factors contributing to how CSA is framed and received in mainstream society. Throughout this piece of writing the concept of a taboo is used as an analytical category. The paper aims at presenting a wide-ranging view of the practice of CSA, using the writer's main societal reference point, that of the Anglo world, specifically calling on examples from the United Kingdom (UK) to contextualise the argument. The discussion frames CSA as a taboo, illustrating this through historical inquiry, with a focus on the evolution of morality surrounding the sexuality of children and the nature of acceptable sexual relations during the period of childhood. A (CSA) survivor perspective is offered in the form of personal biographical confession, as well as survivor narratives that are explored more broadly, pointing to those that society deems acceptable, or not. A triangulation between the taboo nature of the practice, the stigma it generates and the effect it has on childhood is drawn up. The impending effects of shame in processing CSA are explored in respect to disclosure and rehabilitation for those disclosing, but also for those being disclosed to, and society at large. Finally, a nuanced postcolonial approach is proposed, whereby CSA is framed as an invasion or overpowering of a body in much the same way one nation-state invades, land-grabs or takes legislative and governmental control over another landmass during the process of colonisation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While studies on the work people undertake on their 'identities' in professional contexts tend to focus on inner conversations between different possible selves, this paper considers the impact of 'inherited' prescriptions and expectations on such inner conversations and the entwining of identity work with historic conditions written onto the body. It does so by studying performing artists with dwarfism. Taking into account their long history of stereotypical roles within the entertainment sector and their visibly 'different' body which guarantees to solicit the gaze of others, this study considers identity in terms of the corporeal positioning of the self of artists whose position on stage is often morally disputed, both inside and outside the community of people with dwarfism. Analysing how people use their Othered bodies as a symbolic resource for identity work, we describe three different ways of engaging in embodied identity work: identity 'ethicalization', through stereotype- avoiding bodywork, 'queering', through stereotype- provoking bodywork, and 'distancing', through stereotype- acting bodywork. Each strategy is an attempt to redress the incoherence between preferred (personally aspired) and ascribed (historically inherited) identity. By analysing how people preserve an aspirational self and defy the image of being Other, this study contributes to existing debates by highlighting the role of history and the symbolic use of 'oddity' as an instrument in embodied identity work. In addition, it offers a reflective note on the problem of 'academic exoticism' through the sensitization of Other bodies and on the potential of able-bodied allyship to attenuate the lack of disability knowledge in management and organization studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Systems science approaches like simulation modeling can offer an opportunity for community voice to shape policies. In the episteme of many communities there are elders, leaders, and researchers who are seen as bearers of historic knowledge and can contextualize and interpret contemporary research using knowledge systems of the community. There is a need for a systematic methodology to collaborate with community Knowledge Bearers and Knowledge Interpreters. In this paper we report the results of piloting a systematic methodology for collaborating with a community Knowledge-Bearer and Knowledge-Interpreter to develop a conceptual model revealing the local-level influences and architecture of systems shaping community realities. The use case for this pilot is 'persistent poverty' in the United States, specifically within the inner-city African American community in Baltimore City. Methods: This pilot of a participatory modeling approach was conducted over a span of 7 sessions and included the following steps, each with an associated script: Step 1: Knowledge-Bearer and Knowledge-Interpreter recruitment Step 2: Relationship building Step 3: Session introduction, Vignette development & enrichment Step 4: Vignette analysis & constructing architecture of systems map Step 5: Augmenting architecture of systems map Results: Each step of the participatory modeling approach resulted in artifacts that were valuable for both the communities and the research effort. Vignette construction resulted in narratives representing a spectrum of lived experiences, trajectories, and outcomes within a community. The collaborative analysis of vignettes yielded the Architecture of Systemic Factors map, that revealed how factors inter-relate to form a system in which lived experience of poverty occurs. A literature search provided an opportunity for the community to contextualize existing research about them using realities of lived experience. Conclusion: This methodology showed that a community Knowledge Bearer can function as communicators and interpreters of their community's knowledge base, can develop coherent narratives of lived experiences within which research and knowledge is contextualized, and can collaboratively construct conceptual mappings necessary for simulation modeling. This participatory modeling approach showed that even if there already exists a vast body of research about a community, collaborating with community gives context to that research and brings together disparate findings within narratives of lived experience. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper intends to make an important contribution to the studies of religious utopianism by considering religions as comprehensive utopian systems which have an ontological and a social utopian mode. It argues that the ontological mode/utopia is related to human finality and that its fantastical content, abstractness and ontological Othering undermine the transformative powers of left religious social utopianism, while it encourages pernicious social Othering in religious fundamentalism. The article has four sections. In Section 1, it clarifies the definition of utopia on which the paper relies and the reasons for this particular choice. Section 2 discusses the religious ontological utopia and religions as utopian systems and utopian programs. Section 3 utilises E. Bloch’s considerations about concrete and abstract utopias to explain the reasons for the incapacity of politically left orientated religious utopianism to function as a revolutionary force. Finally, the Section 4 discusses the way religious fundamentalism employs social Othering as a way of defending the universality of its ontological vision against competing religious and pseudo-religious universals.

Refugees often are addressed by categorising them as part of a social group. These categorisations emerge when refugees' identities are labelled as Others. One field of this labelling process is education. Currently, we know too little about the intersections of knowledge, power and social placement by educational practices for refugees. Assuming the viewpoint of educational migration research, this paper reports material-semiotic approaches to these intersections by analysing interviews with educational experts (n=8). The overall finding of this study suggests that social inclusion via educational practices is referring to those Others by educational and subjectivating arrangements of work, language, and culture. Identified practices are inter alia creating a dichotomy of organisation and social spaces, precarious participation in everyday life and maintaining standards that defy critical discussion. These findings explain how educators can be actors of precarious identifications even within settings dedicated to including refugees. Education thus turns into an instrument of governing immigrated Others by creating a precarious social space while continuing to promote the promise of inclusion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

PURPOSE: Negative stereotypes and prejudices towards stigmatised social Others have always existed in macrosocial discourses, created and proliferated by popular narratives, macrosocial institutions and scientific discourses. The invention of the mass media provided an optimised version of the previous mechanism for their mainstreaming and enhanced processes of marginalisation, stigmatisation and social exclusion. The paper aims to propose an analytical framework for the analysis of media stereotypes and construction of the image of the Other. METHODS discuss a possible synergy between Discourse Studies, Critical Media Political Economy and Critical Media Cultural Studies for deconstructing media stereotypes, analysing language, the social context and socially embedded relations of ideological and economic power. RESULTS focus on the mechanisms of Othering, involving different theories of prejudice, stereotyping and stigmatisation, as means and strategies of justification, as well as how they relate to media ownership and socio-economic performance. CONCLUSIONS further advance the proposed theoretical synergy and its possible application to fill in certain gaps in Economic Sociology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research paper analyzes two modern short stories Rabindranath Tagore’s “Kabuliwala” and Tariq Rahman’s “Charity” through the conceptual lens of Othering. Within the broader theoretical framework of Postcolonialism, the concept of Othering entails the dichotomy of the Demonic Other and the Exotic Other. The mentioned writers, through their respective characters of the Kabuliwala and the Clerk, provide an insight into the stereotypical discourse which constitutes and permeates a society segregated on the basis of cultural and class differences. Through a contrapuntal analysis of the said texts, this paper explores how the dominant community perceives and stereotypes the marginalized as the Other. It also propounds the reasons behind the psychological constructions of fear and fascination revolving around the Other, which contribute to forming the image of the Demonic and Exotic Other. The aim of the paper is to make the readers realize the significance of the acceptance of the Other in order to build a society inclusive of all its multiple divisions.

Society in the 21st century has experienced a variety of crises, from the fiscal crisis and the migration crisis to the pandemic and the inflation crisis. This paper aims to explore societal dangers of migrant crises narratives. This paper forms part of the Horizon 2020 MIMY research projects with an expert stakeholder Delphi study from seven European countries: Germany, Italy, Poland, Romania, Luxembourg, Sweden and the UK. It takes also into account contextual international and national public opinion surveys. We formulated a number of societal dangers related to the migrant crisis narrative, which are not sharp and exclusive but invite further consideration: (1) Societal fatigue, which relates to a rapid change in societal moods, usually from a positive to a negative attitude toward migrants, but above all this danger is connected with an aid burnout in a civil society; (2) Othering, which includes normativity, the labeling of migrants, double or multiple standards in the treatment of migrants and refugees from various origins; the societal danger of othering contributes to societal divisions, polarizations, tensions and conflicts based on ethnicity, religion, race and gender; (3) Political functionality, whereby migration as a political construct serves as a “whipping boy” for politicians to divert public opinion from recurrent problems; it also involves the creation of piecemeal, reactionary, ad hoc public policies, and the overuse of a protocol of a state of emergency in order to bring about a centralization of political power.

Copyright of Journal for Religion in Education / Religionspädagogische Beiträge is the property of Arbeitsgemeinschaft Katholische Religionspadagogik & Katechetik (AKRK) and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Journal for Religion in Education / Religionspädagogische Beiträge is the property of Arbeitsgemeinschaft Katholische Religionspadagogik & Katechetik (AKRK) and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Teachers with so-called migration backgrounds are often assumed to possess higher intercultural competencies or skills for more adequately dealing with migration-related diversity than other teachers. However, these assumptions of higher intercultural competencies, specific pedagogical orientations and attitudes have rarely been systematically empirically examined. On the other hand, such a utilitarian ethnicization is increasingly criticized by migration researchers in educational science in Germany as furthering stigmatization and deprofessionalization. Against this background, our paper aims to contribute to the lively discourse about teacher with so-called migration backgrounds. We start with analysing teacher data from the German National Education Panel Study (NEPS). Our analyses indicate that teachers with and without so-called migration backgrounds do not differ significantly in most respects. These findings led us to methodological considerations with regard to the (non-)usefulness of the statistical category of 'migration background' in educational migration research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Refugees remain a marginalized population and are exposed to a variety of discriminatory processes, among them Othering which categorizes people as belonging or not-belonging according to certain ascribed characteristics. We explored how the narrative construction of refugee patients by medical students constitutes a form of Othering. Methods: Using story completion, 124 5th year medical students at the Martin- Luther- University Halle-Wittenberg in October 2019 wrote a fictional story in response to a story stem situated in a medical practice. In a comparative approach, one patient presenting with abdominal pain lacks further characterization (version A) and the other is a refugee (version B). The stories were coded using qualitative content analysis by Mayring with a focus on content and narrative strategies (plot structure and perspective). Results: We identified four themes: characters, medical condition, access to care and provision of substandard care. The stories were predominantly framed with a medical or an interaction-based plot structure and written from a process-oriented perspective. The themes in version B, supported by their use of narrative strategies, were largely contextualized within the patients' history of migration. An empathic depiction of patient B and the students' compassion for the patients facing substandard care were key motifs as well. Conclusion: The perception of the version B patients predominantly as refugees establishes their construction as an Other. The students' compassion acts as a representation of societal inequalities and remains an inept response without the tools to counter underlying discriminatory structures. Based on a discourse of deservingness, compassion alone therefore perpetuates Othering and highlights the need for structural competency training in medical school. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A spatial turn is increasingly being recognised across education, the humanities, and social sciences to critique Western Cartesian assumptions treating space as either empty or a diametric opposition bringing dualistic splits between reason/emotion and mind/body. Bacon's vision of human subjugation of nature as a tool for human progress is examined as a diametric spatial projection, where humans are above and apart from nature, in a mirror-image inverted symmetry of above/below hierarchy and side-by-side assumed separation as diametric space. Building on an interdisciplinary synthesis between an aspect of the structural anthropology of Lévi-Strauss, De Beauvoir's othering, and Bronfenbrenner's social-ecological systems in psychology, allied with a Heideggerian critique of being as needing a mode of 'being alongside the world', a shift in experiential and conceptual space is proposed in this conceptual review article for education. This shift is towards a framework of concentric spatial systems of sustainability. Concentric relational spaces of assumed connection and relative openness and away from diametric spaces of splitting and closure have been developed recently for sustainability concerns regarding inclusion in education. This article goes further to interrogate systems of concentric relational space for belonging with and encountering the natural world for environmental sustainability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Places affected by urban shrinkage are widely depicted as left behind places characterized by decline and decay. Refugees are generally constructed as victims or 'dangerous other'. Hence, place-making and negotiations of belonging in shrinking cities are accompanied by multiple layers of stigmatization. Despite this contextual factor and even though many questions related to inter-group relations in shrinking cities are still unanswered, refugee-centered revitalization of shrinking cities is being discussed among city officials, planners and in the scientific community. This paper investigates local discourses on urban shrinkage and refugee arrival as contextual factors for negotiations of place and belonging, and connects to previous studies on the stigmatization of declining cities and the othering of refugees. It uses Nayak's (2019) concept of re-scripting narratives to analyze whether acts of re-writing apply not only to stigmatizations of place, but marginalized groups as well. The paper finds that while dominant discourses on place are contested and at times re-scripted by local actors, discourses which construct refugees as other are reaffirmed. Confirming previous findings according to which stigma was passed on to other marginalized groups, it concludes that there is a need to consider dominant discourses and their negative impact on social cohesion in debates around refugee-centered revitalization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Maryse Condé’s satirical autobiography, What is Africa to Me?, she recollects and re-evaluates her decade-long stay in four West African countries. The book also affords readers the chance to follow her trajectory from a racially Othered adolescent female to an ardent follower of Negritude, especially Aimé Césaire’s brand, which she associates with her personal re-creation and the uplift of the whole of the Black race. Anchored in postcolonial and feminist perspectives on Othering, this paper examines the role that commodification, Negritude, and disillusionment play in the narrative. In this counter-discourse, pervasive Othering is perceptible in patriarchy, one-party governments, and the chasm between West Africans and diasporan Africans. It is argued that the writer’s ultimate disavowal of Africa is principally a function of her objectification by the post-independence elite. The paper concludes that, far from being blameless, Maryse Condé herself contributes to the Othering of her husband, Mamadou Condé, and of Africa.

Science fiction has advanced beyond the depiction of artificial intelligence, which is capable of conscious thought to speculate on a future in which machines that feel and initiate feeling in return are created. This article discusses Kazuo Ishiguro's Klara and The Sun (2021) as a textual reference by considering circumstances in which emotional capacity no longer separates humans from machines. In most dystopian literature, political distinctions between humans and less-than-humans are typically used to describe the systems of governance, with the latter constituting the marginalised yet inexorable substratum that supports and normalises the dominant system. Drawing on Affect Literary Theory and its relevance to AI, I argue that, contrary to popular belief, Klara, the AI, can feel emotions such as sadness, grief, sympathy, love, faith, and hope. Nonetheless, rather than being pleased and comfortable, humans represented in Klara and the Sun contest AI's supremacy and use otherness as a defence mechanism to degrade AIs to feel superior and defend themselves from AI's likely rule of the planet. In Klara and the Sun, a disturbing historical parallel to the position of the AIs in the social hierarchy is that of slaves since, like slaves, their existence is reduced to their disposable utility. I can conclude that slavery expands to encompass the entire planet, with androids, genetically modified humans, and the earth itself functioning as sites of human capitalist exploitation. Using Affect Theory, I argue that Ishiguro attempts to elicit humans' sympathy and empathy with Klara, the AI, in order to advocate for a relationship in which humans have never been distinct from machines and conceptions of humanness could not be formulated without technologies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article analyzes the complete corpus of live-action X-Men movies for their depictions of genetics and otherness. The researchers watched and qualitatively coded all thirteen movies produced by 20th Century Fox that take place in the same shared cinematic universe, beginning with X-Men (2000) and ending with The New Mutants (2020). The X-Men movies are unusual summer blockbusters since they explore genetic topics through their central characters, mutants, who are genetically different from their non-mutant peers. Mutants in the films evoke a plurality of analogies, such as mutant-as-Black and mutant-as-queer. These intersecting metaphors build upon a core of genetic difference to create a versatile but limited picture of prejudice, solidarity, and otherness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

PURPOSE: Negative stereotypes and prejudices towards stigmatised social Others have always existed in macrosocial discourses, created and proliferated by popular narratives, macrosocial institutions and scientific discourses. The invention of the mass media provided an optimised version of the previous mechanism for their mainstreaming and enhanced processes of marginalisation, stigmatisation and social exclusion. The paper aims to propose an analytical framework for the analysis of media stereotypes and construction of the image of the Other. METHODS discuss a possible synergy between Discourse Studies, Critical Media Political Economy and Critical Media Cultural Studies for deconstructing media stereotypes, analysing language, the social context and socially embedded relations of ideological and economic power. RESULTS focus on the mechanisms of Othering, involving different theories of prejudice, stereotyping and stigmatisation, as means and strategies of justification, as well as how they relate to media ownership and socio-economic performance. CONCLUSIONS further advance the proposed theoretical synergy and its possible application to fill in certain gaps in Economic Sociology.

This article discusses pre -existing studies of Euro -Orientalism (Orientalism directed at Eastern Europe), and advocates for further study of the inequal relationship between Europe's West and East. In this sense, this article should help to overview and advance the study this phenomenon. A better understanding of Euro -Orientalism is necessary both in order to counter epistemic injustice, and in order to promote realistic policy recommendations for the region. In this latter connection, the article argues that the West's inability to take proper account of Eastern European historical experiences contributed to its failure to prepare for Russia's all -out invasion of Ukraine in early 2022. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The warnings about Turkey’s not-so-near accession to the EU are explored as a strategic tool in the Brexit campaign, linking concerns about sovereignty and immigration compounded with the anxieties surrounding Islam and the threat of terrorism. Drawing on the theoretical framework of Edward Said’s Orientalism and the unique perspectives gathered from British Turks, this paper sheds light on their nuanced responses. It uncovers strategies of disbelief and denial in the face of the constructed narrative that portrayed Turkey as an undesirable ‘Other’ with its predominantly Muslim population. A closer analysis of some British Turks’ narratives is premised not only on the sacralised defence of the principles of Turkish westernisation but also on the socio-political reputation of the Islamic Ottoman past as almighty. The article equally contributes to a deeper understanding of the complex interplay between British national identity and discourses surrounding immigration, sovereignty, and Islamophobia within the context of Brexit, as well as the principles by which the privileges of modern, secular Turkey, as well as the demise of the mighty Ottoman image, are maintained. In a paradoxical manner, the act of denial only serves to affirm the Brexit campaign’s narrative depicting Turkey as an undesirable ‘Other’ with a predominantly Muslim demographic.

Societal upheavals often ignite bias against "the other." The early political rhetoric around the COVID-19 pandemic keenly engaged this othering process, even from its early nomenclature as the "Wuhan" and "China" virus. Although media accounts of xenophobic violence against Asian Americans abound, little behavioral evidence exists that identifies the prevalence and scope of anti-Chinese bias during the COVID-19 pandemic. We examine whether and to what extent traces of such othering systematically emerge in Americans' everyday behaviors. Specifically, we analyze a novel dataset focused on Yelp reviews for Chinese and American restaurants in eight large metropolitan areas. Using difference-in-differences estimation, we find that Chinese restaurants received significantly lower ratings compared with American restaurants shortly after the start of the pandemic. The effect is localized to Chinese restaurants, rather than to all Asian restaurants. Our results highlight the emergence of anti-Chinese prejudice in an ostensibly apolitical setting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sayyid Qutb was a great thinker in Islamic religious matters. His writings and ideology were often used as reference by the Muslim community in the 20th century. Each piece of his writings contains implicit meanings that require in-depth understanding. However, his travelogue entitled Amrika Allati Ra’aytu or its English translation The America I Have Seen in the Scale of Human Values has received less attention than his other works. This travelogue is unique in that it mainly narrates the primitive side of the church institution in the United States (U.S), unlike his other works that are more neutral. This study, therefore, analysed this primitive perspective based on a selected theory known as othering theory. This qualitative research used the documentation and content analysis methods. The result of this study shows that while this travelogue mostly presents primitive connotation towards the church institution; based on the othering concept, it is an action of Sayyid Qutb as a nationalist who defended the Muslim community in Egypt at that time from being continuously colonised by Western ideologies. This study is hoped to provide a new perspective in religious studies, particularly from the aspect of religious criticism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: First-generation college students (FGCS) represent an underserved population navigating higher education. There is a current gap in the literature regarding the interaction of occupational experiences, imposter phenomenon (IP), and FGCS. The purpose of this study is to use grounded theory to explore the occupational experience of IP among FGCS enrolled in a four-year university in California. Method: This research is a qualitative study using grounded theory. Data was collected through a screening survey and interview with 11 participants who identified as FGCS. Results: Thematic analysis generated five themes: (a) emotional aspects of IP, (b) collectivism, (c) balance, (d) communities of belonging, (e) othering. The theory of othering was created using grounded theory. FGCS's sense of being extended beyond the individual to the collective. Imposter phenomenon and intersectionality contributed to barriers to belonging. Although THE participants still experienced othering at the university level, they created smaller communities with peers where they felt they belonged. Conclusion: This study contributes to occupational science literature by expanding the understanding of occupational experiences regarding IP. The theory of othering can be used by those working with FGCS to address othering and enhance belonging. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Our study was designed to pilot a photo elicitation methodology and undertake preliminary examination of substance use from the perspectives of two potentially disparate groups. Photo elicitation methodology involved participant generated photos and elicitation interviews to purposefully explore (i) how people who use substances depict and discuss their own substance use, and (ii) how professionals who prescribe/dispense pharmaceuticals depict and portray how substances impact the lives' of patients/clients. Individuals who use substances told ''stories of self.'' Health providers blended ''stories of others'' and ''stories of social worlds'' that indirectly revealed ''stories of self.'' All participants confronted dominant social perspectives, offering alternative interpretations and challenging such opinions as incomplete or erroneous. The social nature of substances held contrasting perspectives, with health professionals seeing incentives of ''fitting in'' with ''peers using'' and a ''coping strategy'' to reduce social anxiety. Participants who use substances told stories of positive social connections through shared experiences of substance use and increased effects of sociability. Findings may contribute to nuanced understandings to destigmatise and mitigate Othering. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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This article deals with the legendary figure of Eugenio Barba as a paradigmatic case to demonstrate the difference between the other theatre and the theatre of the other. Its main objective is to discuss the juxtaposition of performativity as (re)presenting, showing, and self-awareness by narrating the myth of Barba. The argument is presented through six interconnected caveats: the legend and its myth; The Moon rises from the Ganges: the story inside the myth; the critique of western civilization: an insider's story of self-reflexivity; the other theatre is not the theatre of the other; the life-world of the myth of Barba; and finally, performing otherness, othering performance. The article is addressed mainly but not exclusively to readers with a background in cultural anthropology, performance studies, theater studies, hermeneutics, phenomenology, history of civilization, literary theory, colonialism, and representation of the other. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Shrek, the frightening ogre of the swamp, yet dearly famous for children, falls in love with the pretty princess Fiona, who transforms into an ugly monster at night. Fiona, obsessed with her appearance, awaits anxiously to be saved and loved by Prince Charming and retain her daytime beauty, or else she will remain an ugly and unloved monster. There are some more children’s movies that project the social reaction and rejection towards something or someone that is considered to be different than the norm. These images are mediated in various forms: be it films, cartoons, news, etc, thus creating citizens who are prone to exclude anything atypical, diverse, unusual. In any way, the selected information offered by the media affects people’s familiarity with human diversity (Naficy & Gabriel 1993, O’Barr 1994 cited by Cortes 2000) as well as intensifies the social and cultural issues. Children receive their social construct mainly from information they receive from mass media, which helps them create models and define their understanding of the world. This information can be as simple as a cartoon or multi-layered as these movies, but it can have semantic and stereotypical nuances that are packed in an attractive way, presented as news or as entertainment, and offered as fact or fabrication. In a specific context, children tend to be prejudiced towards a different ethnic group (Teichman & Zafrir 2003, Cortes 2000) and this starts to demonstrate between the ages of 5-7 by socialising mostly with their similar peers and by rejecting all others who are different (Nesdale & Lambert 2007). Similarly, they react against those peers who show features that are deemed to be “abnormal” or atypical by the societal norms, such as colour, physical appearance or other differences such as speech disorders. Different studies have investigated the factors that affect this stereotypical behavior, but most stress the role of the media. This paper will take an interdisciplinary approach on literature in order to understand the volatility of children on media content and will try to identify some instances of Albanian media’ contribution on creating biased perception on different social and cultural groups and explore the possible ways of educating children on diversity issues.

Transgender people in India hold a dualistic perspective on their identity. In one way, they are considered a disgraceful entity in society and, at the same time, they resemble the "Ardhanareswar" version of the Hindu God Shiva (Ardhanareswar version of Shiva: among Shiv's many avatars, Ardhanareswar is the only one in which the god embodied both genders in a single amalgamation. That represented both the male and female gender). Also, they have been referred to as derogatory names, which are often used as slang for men who are "not man enough" and more resemble femininity. In the case of the trans women community, they are caught up in the binary status of gender, which completely ignores the third gender, and hence suffer along with the secondary status of womanhood in Indian society. In this perspective, there was and is gradual exclusion and discrimination against the trans women community. Gender identity and available occupational choice influence their occupational decision making. In this regard, the present study tries to explore the identity formation and discrimination faced by the transgender community in Sambalpur, Western Odisha. Furthermore, it tries to understand the construction of their identity through the theory of Othering. It also strives to look at the impact of discrimination on their personal, social, and health prospects in the community and evaluate the impact of the schemes implemented for them. The study is conducted among 45 trans women in the Sambalpur city in Western Odisha. Based on its prejudices, Indian society continues to create transgender identity. To give them proper recognition, government scheme assistance is insufficient at times, and people's mindsets must be changed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper takes a multimodal approach to analyze both linguistic and non-linguistic resources represented in a Korean program, The Hymn of Death (2018), with an aim to discover how a multimodal discourse reshapes the way we perceive our society, especially women. The backdrop of this series is set in the 1920s in Korea. This period represents a transition toward modernity in which women were given the opportunity to study and work. This small group of young women were called 'new women.' With male-centered thumbnails and descriptions which are interlaced together in each episode, The Hymn of Death exhibits the patriarchal culture at the time when a new woman remains absent or invisible as an other.

Othering broadly refers to various constructed notions of (non-)belonging and difference that engender marginality and structural inequality. Social-psychological approaches that conceive ingroup and outgroup formations as an interaction between cognitive, emotional, and conative processes are not sufficient to conceptualize Othering. It is important to include the social and historical imprint of Othering and the resulting power relations between ingroups and outgroups. In this paper we demonstrate that a postcolonial-intersectional perspective is needed to understand the social and discursive character of Othering and the historically grown formation of Self-Other power relations. Othering can be understood as a (multidimensional) social phenomenon that requires a critical perspective on difference to analyze the processes of making Others through difference construction.Othering is relevant to public health as an analytical lens that helps to understand the link between minority status and health inequalities. Othering can affect health in different ways as it occurs in multiple dimensions and forms that vary according to marginalized groups and institutional as well as social contexts. First, Othering can affect othered persons on an individual level. Second, Othering can manifest itself at the institutional level of health care institutions; and third, it can have far-reaching effects on a contextual level. To benefit from the analytical capacity of this concept, and to understand the complex relationship between Othering and health, a theoretical understanding of Othering is needed.

Xenophobia as a form of othering manifests differently in varying contexts, and against the backdrop of globalisation, the nature of migration and societal integration of foreigners has changed over time. In South Africa, xenophobia has been a vital issue connected to migrants, whereby those from other African countries face discrimination based on their nationality, ethnicity and economic disparities. However, there is a knowledge gap in understanding how othering as a concept manifests beyond overt forms of violence and how it links to systemic forms of exclusion. The concept explored in this article is 'West-a-phobia', coined by Petkou (2005) when conducting his PhD research on West African migrants living in Johannesburg, South Africa. By reappropriating Petkou's concept through a transnational theoretical framework, this article delves into the experience of six West African migrants living in South Africa over a long period to analyse how systemic and covert forms of othering manifest within the post-apartheid context. The key findings from this study conclude that West African migrants who have lived in South Africa over a particular period experience a lack of cohesion and integration into society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rarely in recent history has there been a challenge to public health as great as the COVID-19 pandemic. With newer cases still being reported on a daily basis, the media has maintained close track of the development of the outbreak in their news reports. This study analyzes representations of the European Union and the United States in China Daily, one of the major Chinese state media, through a content analysis of 88 news reports concerning the pandemic situations in 2020 from a broad perspective without explicitly elucidating the individual differences of the countries and states within these two global players. It reveals that China Daily represents the EU and the US differently within the global context of the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly in the intensity of the outbreak, coordination and response, and most notably, their amicable and antagonistic relations with China. The results of the analysis epitomize China's interactions with major global actors from the West, which are increasingly shifting away from the traditional "East versus West" dichotomy, and the EU and the US are viewed as differentiated "others" from China's perspective according to the reports involved in this study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As the United States has become increasingly polarized, policymakers have had difficulty gaining bipartisan support for policy proposals. Political polarization can lead to the othering of individuals, a process characterized by the tendency to construct members of an opposing party in negative ways. In this article, we examine the creation and disruption of othering through the lens of language convergence/meaning divergence (LC/MD) and pragmatic ambiguity. LC/MD and pragmatic ambiguity framed our case study of the successful bipartisan passage of the Global Food Security Act (GFSA) in 2016. We found that othering was produced through a maestro Discourse of Polarization that structured interactions between other Discourses, including the Discourse of National Security and the Global Good Discourse. Discordant framings of the three Discourses created the ambiguity necessary to disrupt othering and achieve collective action. The findings provide new theoretical insights into othering processes while pragmatic ambiguity broadens LC/MD in important ways. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article argues that states' narratives about themselves and each other, shaped by the foreign policy decision-makers, create filters for the achievement of soft power goals. A state agent can shape narratives that can be rejected by the state's target's society because they would undermine dominating biographical and strategic narratives of the state target. The empirical analysis of the narratives of the president, minister of foreign affairs, and spokesperson of the MFA of Russia illustrates how Russia prevents itself from soft power expansion by "othering" Lithuania. At the same time, analysis of the narratives of presidents and the minister of the foreign affairs of Lithuania illustrates how they shield society from Russia's narratives and, thus, soft power while searching for "sameness" with the Euro-Atlantic partners. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ways of Othering: Literary Image of Russians in Habsburg Lviv The popular image of multicultural Lviv/Lwów in general, and under Habsburg rule in particular, usually excludes Russians from the group of genuine city dwellers. The main aim of this paper is to analyze the few portrayals of Russians in literary texts relating to the period of WWI. I compare Polish strategies of othering Russians as barbarians and an insidious element, prevalent in the literature for young readers of the 1920s, with the tendency of some Ukrainian authors to create a more nuanced image in the mass literature of the 2010s. The analysis of ways of othering Russians in the two identified groups of literary texts considers the geopolitical and national identity issues underpinning these trends. Kształtowanie obrazu Innego. Literacki obraz Rosjan w habsburskim Lwowie W popularnym obrazie wielokulturowego Lwowa, zarówno polskim, jak i ukraińskim, do grona prawdziwych mieszkańców miasta zasadniczo nie mogą zostać zaliczeni Rosjanie. Głównym celem artykułu jest analiza nielicznych przykładów ich wizerunków w tekstach literackich dotyczących okresu I wojny światowej. Porównuję polskie strategie traktowania Rosjan jako „Innych” – barbarzyńców i wrogów, realizowane w literaturze dla młodych czytelników lat dwudziestych XX wieku, z ukraińską tendencją do tworzenia bardziej zniuansowanego obrazu w literaturze masowej ostatniej dekady. W analizie sposobów wykluczania Rosjan w tych dwóch grupach tekstów literackich uwzględnione zostają kwestie geopolityczne i problem tożsamości narodowej.