otherness
State of unfamiliarity
Otherness is the quality of being different, strange, or alien—especially as perceived by a dominant group viewing those outside it.
The term appears in philosophy, sociology, and cultural studies to describe how societies construct boundaries between "us" and "them": The film explores the otherness of immigrant experience.
Otherness can be imposed (marking someone as foreign or deviant) or claimed (embracing difference as identity).
Way things contrast
- pluralityLargest share among several
- multiculturalismCoexistence of diverse traditions
- heterogeneityState of being dissimilar
- varietyState of being diverse
inclusivity · coexistence · pluralism · mosaic · hybridity · cosmopolitanism · intersectionality · representation
Emotional separation between people
- exclusionBeing barred from participation
- marginalizationRelegation to powerless periphery
- ostracismBanishment from a group
- rejectionDenial of acceptance
isolation · detachment · disconnection · outsider · outcast · pariah · foreigner · stranger
Notable difference or honor
- dissimilarityState of being unlike
- disparityMeasurable difference between things
- divergenceSeparation from common origin
- contrastNotable difference between things
separateness · incongruity · discrepancy · heterogeneity · deviation · variation · anomaly · unlikeness
From another nation
- unfamiliarNot previously known
- strangeUnusual or unfamiliar
- mysteriousBeyond easy comprehension
- curiosityDesire to learn
fascination · orientalism · fetishization · spectacle · romanticization · primitive · tribal · distant
Individual identity, personhood
- subjectivityPersonal viewpoint coloring perception
- non-selfForeign biological material
- personaAssumed public identity
- egoOne's self-image
personhood · in-group · out-group · boundary · self-definition · self-concept · differentiation · distinctiveness
Study of subjective experience
- SartreFrench existentialist philosopher
- BeauvoirFrench feminist philosopher
- existentialismPhilosophy stressing self-created meaning
- dialecticLogical argument through opposition
Hegel · subject-object · being · consciousness · transcendence · immanence · ontology · epistemology
difference
Way things contrast
- pluralityLargest share among several
- multiculturalismCoexistence of diverse traditions
- heterogeneityState of being dissimilar
variety · inclusivity · coexistence · pluralism · mosaic · hybridity · cosmopolitanism · intersectionality · representation · tolerance
estrangement
Emotional separation between people
- exclusionBeing barred from participation
- marginalizationRelegation to powerless periphery
- ostracismBanishment from a group
rejection · isolation · detachment · disconnection · outsider · outcast · pariah · foreigner · stranger · exile
distinction
Notable difference or honor
- dissimilarityState of being unlike
- disparityMeasurable difference between things
- divergenceSeparation from common origin
contrast · separateness · incongruity · discrepancy · heterogeneity · deviation · variation · anomaly · unlikeness · differentiation
foreign
From another nation
- unfamiliarNot previously known
- strangeUnusual or unfamiliar
- mysteriousBeyond easy comprehension
curiosity · fascination · orientalism · fetishization · spectacle · romanticization · primitive · tribal · distant · unknown
selfhood
Individual identity, personhood
- subjectivityPersonal viewpoint coloring perception
- non-selfForeign biological material
- personaAssumed public identity
ego · personhood · in-group · out-group · boundary · self-definition · self-concept · differentiation · distinctiveness · categorization
phenomenology
Study of subjective experience
- SartreFrench existentialist philosopher
- BeauvoirFrench feminist philosopher
- existentialismPhilosophy stressing self-created meaning
dialectic · Hegel · subject-object · being · consciousness · transcendence · immanence · ontology · epistemology · postcolonialism
- identityidentity, personal identity, self, selfhood, self-expression
- alienationestrangement, social isolation, disconnection, exclusion, outsider
- French ThoughtDescartes, Sartre, Foucault, Derrida, Camus
- Immigrant FictionPachinko, Amy Tan, Khaled Hosseini, Sandra Cisneros, The Kite Runner
- literary themesheroism, hero's journey, ennui, social realism, morals
- social constructssocial constructs, gender, race, class, marriage
othernesssameness
State of being identical
identity · identicalness · similarity · likeness · equivalence
othernessbelonging
State of fitting in
inclusion · membership · kinship · integration · fellowship
othernessfamiliarity
Knowledge through experience
normality · normalcy · ordinariness · recognizability · typicality
other, another, others, otherwise, each other, otherworldly, othering, one another