Alterity: The passion, politics, and ethics of self and scholarship

Abstract

I propose that the choices we make about the type of work we do as scholars are not just intellectual ones, they are intricately interwoven with who we are, made in poetic moments, in relation to others, and have political consequences in terms of our identities and career. This is particularly so for critical and reflexive scholars struggling with their sense of self in relation to the wider academy. This struggle is both personal and ethical in the sense of requiring us to be respons-able for ourselves and others. Drawing from hermeneutic phenomenology and utilizing narrative ethnography, I explore my experience of alterity and how it helped shape me, my research, and my career. My aim is to encourage scholars engaged in work that is different to mainstream “norms,” and who may be grappling with similar issues, to persevere and find a way forward.