The Paradox of the Other: Difficulties in Classification (Grad Conference)
THE PARADOX OF THE OTHER: DIFFICULTIES IN CLASSIFICATION
Eleventh Annual Brooklyn College Graduate English Conference
Saturday, May 5, 2018
“If one could possess, grasp, and know the other, it would not be other,” wrote Emmanuel Levinas. The paradox Levinas identifies is at the heart of this conference’s concerns. Despite our definitions – the unknown, the demonic, and the withdrawn, for example – the “other,” by definition, must elude our grasp. Given this un-givenness, why do scholars continue to pursue questions of otherness? What is it about otherness that provokes or induces scholarly interest?