The Art of Seeing and Hearing the Other

The seminar will be hosted by ETHER (Ethics and Aesthetics for Encountering the Other) a global research network of members working across academic, arts and public sectors.

Event abstract

How we see and hear the other is often shaped through our attachment to ideas, images and ideologies about ourselves, others and the world. Language ideologies, for instance, delineate what counts as language and as legitimate ways of language use. They set boundaries inside which another is heard, encountered and judged (Inoue, 2003; Piller, 2016). This kind of meeting, however, precludes genuine contact because the listening/looking subject’s ideological preoccupations always put another in the position of an object (‘it’) to be comprehended, made sense of or assimilated. Anthropological philosophy, on the other hand, has entertained the possibility that an authentic encounter with difference can be achieved with a relational shift from ‘I-it’ to ‘I-Thou’ (Buber, 2013). The latter requires the subject’s pre-reflective way of being-in-the world which regards oneself and the other as whole human beings who cannot be reduced to cultural categories (Levinas, 1972). The seminar will examine how the two stances are negotiated in real-life encounters and identify theoretical principles for enabling authentic meetings across divides.

Event schedule 

Day 1 – 20 April 9:30-14:30

Provocations: Dagmar DyckSophie HerxheimerSarah-Jane MasonAdam JafferThandanani GumedeHelen Finch; Thea PitmanParinita Shetty; Cornelia F. BockLara-Stephanie Krause; Stephanie Jo KentAwad Ibrahim; Joke DewildeIngrid M Rodrick Beiler

Keynote: Rosine Kelz (philosopher, IASS, Potsdam) 

Day 2 – 21 April 13:00-16:45

Creative Lab led by Artists in Residence: Pavel Fischer and Jakub Jedlinsky (violinist, Prague)

Conversation led by Ana Deumert (sociolinguist, University of Cape Town)

For a full itinerary and further details about the two day event please visit the ETHER event page.

Event registration

To attend the event you will need to register via the Eventbrite page.