[Discussion] "IDENTITIES AND ALTERITIES"

[Gonul]

The organisers of the ASCA international conference on "Identities and =

Alterities" are pleased to announce that Prof. Ato Quayson, director of
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the African Studies centre at the University of Cambridge (UK) has =
agreed to be our third keynote speaker.

Amsterdam School for Cultural Analysis (ASCA)
University of Amsterdam=20
CALL FOR PAPERS=20
"IDENTITIES AND ALTERITIES"
Amsterdam, March 24-26, 2004=20
Keynote speakers: Peter Hitchcock (CUNY), Brian McHale (Ohio State =
University), Ato Quayson (University of Cambridge)
The Amsterdam School for Cultural Analysis (ASCA) invites proposals for
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an international conference on Identities and Alterities, to be held in
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Amsterdam on March 24-26, 2004.=20
The conference will explore the concepts of identities and alterities, =

their interrelations and their relevance in current academic, public, =
and political discourse and practice. The usability of the concepts of =

identity, identities and identity politics is highly disputed, but it =
nevertheless functions as an important term for the self-definition, =
articulation and emancipation of individuals and groups. The concept of
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"identity" has been much-criticized for its presumed tendency to =
essentialism, where identity is primordial, given and determinate, as =
well as for its alleged positing of the subject as a complete, centered,
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being in complete control of his or her actions. However, as Paul Gilroy
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has pointed out, "we make our identities, but with inherited resources =

and not under the circumstances of our own choosing."=20
In recent years, identity has ceased to be an individual, internal term
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for subjectivity, but has evolved into a collective term with an =
inextricable link to alterity, making it a highly useful tool for =
political and historical analyses. Identities are continually =
re-constructed, re-invented and re-interpreted in the light of political
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developments (such as decolonisation), in the light of interactions with
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the actual, external other (intersubjectivity), and in the light of our
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position in a postmodern discourse. =20
We want to approach the concepts of identity and alterity from three =
different angles: =20
        *       Postcolonialism: Formation as
Representation/Representation as =
Formation
This angle explores the concepts of identity and alterity in changing =
societies in terms of Stuart Hall's ideas on the politics of =
articulation and representation, and their tactical value for =
establishing identity in terms of shifting alliances and a continuous =
redefinition of boundaries. The very nature of the postcolonial =
necessitates an approach that takes its complexity into consideration. =

The colonial experience is diverse in space and time and should not be =

essentialised as a unifying force between different communities. As =
Richard Werbner puts it: "The postcolonial describes at once a presence
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and absence. The now in tension with the not-now, which creates a =
politicized reality."=20
In the contemporary postcolonial context we are faced with numerous =
identity formations and representations. The question arises whether and
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how these can be systematically accounted for. How do we deal with =
identity formations that are "open-ended, productive and fraught with =
ambivalence" (James Clifford), yet constitute and represent communities
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with regard to cultural politics and global economies? And if identity =

is dependent on history and culture, what are the effects of =
colonization and decolonization on its conceptualization? Can indigenous
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identities transcend colonial disruptions in terms of a shared past? In
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what way can a non-essentialist theory of identity engage with the =
reality of conservative manifestations of identity politics? =20
        *       Intersubjectivity: Identities in-between self and
other=20
We want to explore how identities are established and re-established in
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and through intersubjectivity, in and through relations between self and
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other, both individual and collective. The empirical, external other =
emerges as a crucial force in relation to subjectivity, embodiment and =

identity in the work of Mikhail Bakhtin and in Peter Hitchcock's =
elaboration of Bakhtin's concept of exotopy, which posits "outsideness =

as a form of affirmative alienation." Similar priority to the other as a
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positive force has been given in various recent psychoanalytic =
approaches (Jean Laplanche, Kaja Silverman, Jessica Benjamin). =20

Questions we want to raise are: Can there be a subject or self without =

the other? Is there identity without alterity (without difference, =
otherness, the other)? In which ways can the other form and reform the =

self, both in line with and contrary to dominant cultural =
representations? What role do language, vision, the body, space-time, =
and translation play in the process of establishing identities =
in-between self and other? How can we formulate an ethics or politics of
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intersubjectivity? How do we conceptualize intersubjectivity on the =
collective level of social or political groups and/or in relation to =
postcolonialism and transnationalism?=20
        *       Postmodernism: after and beyond the "death of the
subject"=20
Postmodernism, understood as a discourse (Brian McHale), is preoccupied
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less with the formation of identities than with their fragmentation and
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ultimately, dissolution. However, the talk about the "death of the =
subject" has by now grown somewhat stale and it also cannot account for
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those individuals and groups who are not granted identity and =
subjectivity in the first place. The third panel will therefore raise =
the following question: how can we theorize the identity of individuals
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and groups within a postmodernist discourse, but in such a way that they
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retain or gain agency?
Postmodern theories have to a large extent been preoccupied with the =
epistemology of subjectivity as it had already been envisioned in German
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idealism, and have neglected the active and narrative processes involved
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in identity formation. We will therefore consider what role the =
performative and performativity (Mieke Bal) play in producing identities
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and alterities. It is in this context that the concept of alterity can =

develop its full analytic potential, because it allows for an =
intersubjective interplay between real, empirical groups and =
individuals. Questions to be asked include: what is the relation between
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identity and alterity, between self and other in postmodernist =
discourses, artworks and political practices? How are identities and =
alterities produced, performed, and challenged?=20
*   *   *
Participants should outline what conception(s) of identities and/or =
alterities they are proposing, as well as their theoretical, political,
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practical or cultural relevance. The concepts may be addressed together
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or separately and they may be correlated with cultural objects such as =

film, artworks, television, literature, photography, music, museums, =
scientific objects/practices, religious objects/practices, etc. =20
This conference is the latest in a series of ASCA graduate conferences =

and is inspired by the Theory Seminar organized by Mieke Bal in =
2002-2003 on "How to do Cultural Analysis." Participants will be =
expected to explain how their work connects to the practice of cultural
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analysis. Papers should aim to establish a dialogue between theory and =

cultural objects, asking not only what the theory says about the object,
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but also what the object says about the theory, how it prompts =
theoretical reformulations - what Mieke Bal calls "letting the object =
speak back."=20
Please send your one-page proposal, accompanied by a short CV, by =
October 1st 2003. =20
Proposals will be selected according to their relevance to the topics of
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the conference.=20
The workshop format of the conference is designed to stimulate the =
discussion in the panels. Participants will be asked to send the final =

version of their papers (4000 word maximum) by January 25th, 2004. A =
reader will be prepared for each of the panels, which will be circulated
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before the conference.=20
Instead of "reading" their papers at the conference, participants will =

be asked to give a 15-minute presentation on their work, connecting =
their paper to the other papers in their panel and to the overall =
concerns of the conference. =20
Please send your proposal to the ASCA office:=20
Dr. Eloe Kingma (Managing Director ASCA), Spuistraat 210, 1012 VT =
Amsterdam, The Netherlands; tel. +31 20 525 3874, fax: +3120 525 3052, =

asca@hum.uva.nl =
<http://mail.yahoo.com/config/login?/ym/Compose?To=3Dasca@hum.uva.nl&YY=3D=

11694&order=3Ddown&sort=3Ddate&pos=3D0>=20
<http://www.hum.uva.nl/asca> =20
Organizing committee: Dr. Silke Horstkotte, Anette Hoffmann, Saskia =
Lourens, =20
Esther Peeren=20
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