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Overview

The concepts of the Other and Othering have long shaped social, cultural, and political understandings of belonging and exclusion. Broadly, the “Other” refers to the labelling of individuals or groups as different, while “othering” describes the processes through which difference is constructed, categorised, and often stereotyped (Razum, 2022). Such processes establish boundaries between those who are perceived as belonging and those positioned outside dominant social norms. 

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Emerging across multiple contexts, Othering can include gender relations, medical discourse, race, disability, and cultural representation. From literary portrayals to psychiatric and social narratives, distinctions between the normative and the marginal continue to shape lived experience (Smith et al., 2023). Despite contemporary claims of equality, exclusion based on race, sexuality, disability, mental health, religion, and appearance remains embedded within social structures. Scholars such as Simone de Beauvoir demonstrate how defining certain groups as secondary or deviant sustains enduring systems of inequality (Beauvoir, 2011). Through these mechanisms, constructions of belonging influence access to power, resources, and social legitimacy (Razum, 2022).

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Othering also raises deeper philosophical questions concerning identity and humanity itself. If individuals are shaped by culture, environment, education, and social experience, how do repeated acts of exclusion influence one’s sense of self and belonging (Dufour, 2018)? Posthumanist theory offers one way of approaching these questions by challenging narrow definitions of the human subject. Posthumanist thinkers such as Donna Haraway and Rosi Braidotti encourage reconsideration of traditional humanist models, particularly where technology, embodiment, and disability intersect. The increasing visibility of prosthetic enhancement and human–machine interaction continues to unsettle distinctions between human and non-human, often generating new forms of social othering.

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This conference invites scholars and researchers to critically examine how othering operates across historical, cultural, political, technological or any other contexts. By bringing together interdisciplinary perspectives, the event seeks to explore how boundaries of belonging are created, negotiated, resisted, and transformed. We welcome work that interrogates established hierarchies, challenges normative assumptions, and reimagines inclusive understandings of identity, community, and humanity.

 

For any questions or inquiries regarding the submission process, please contact us at the email address above. We look forward to your participation!

We invite papers that explore, but are not limited to:

  • Historical constructions of the “Other”

  • Gendered, racialised, colonial, or religious Othering

  • Language and discourse of Othering and difference

  • The politics of belonging 

  • Medical, psychiatric, or biopolitical framings of difference 

  • Disability studies

  • Posthumanist perspectives 

  • Othering in literature, film, and visual culture 

  • Digital Media and technological exclusions

  • Algorithmic bias  

  • Migration, borders, and citizenship

  • Resistance, reclamation, and reconfiguration of “Otherness”

 

We welcome contributions from postgraduates, established academics (especially those who perceive themselves as coming from non-traditional academic backgrounds) and ambitious undergraduates. Contributions from across disciplines, including (but not restricted to): literature, sociology, philosophy, media studies, cultural studies, and anthropology, are also encouraged. 

 

References

Akbulut, N. and Razum, O. (2022) ‘Why Othering should be considered in research on health inequalities: Theoretical perspectives and research needs’, SSM - Population Health, 20(101286), p. 101286. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssmph.2022.101286.

Bhugra, D. et al. (2023) ‘“Otherness”, otherism, discrimination, and health inequalities: entrenched challenges for modern psychiatric disciplines’, International Review of Psychiatry (Abingdon, England), 35(3–4), pp. 234–241. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1080/09540261.2023.2192275.

De Beauvoir, S. (2011) The Second Sex. Edited by C. Borde and S. Malovany-Chevallier. London: Vintage.

Dervin, F. (2016) ‘Discourses of Othering’, in Interculturality in Education. London: Palgrave Macmillan UK, pp. 43–55.

Dufour, F. (2018) Unpublished theoretical work cited in AbdulMagied, S.A. (2020) Othering, Identity, and Recognition: The Social Exclusion of International Students.

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