Languages of the Other: Contemporary Feminist and Theological Discourses of Otherness

Abstract

Across discussions of a broadly postmodern nature, one commonly finds appeal to a rather uncommon notion: the notion of otherness. The commonness of the appeal tends to belie in the fact that the notion being appealed to is so loosely defined that it is often unclear precisely how it is being used. This paper is motivated by the concern that this concept of the Other is so broad, malleable, and ill-defined that the radical potential of its use lies in danger of being dissipated.