Othering Belonging A Framework and Analysis for a
Othering & Belonging: A Framework and Analysis for a Fair and Inclusive Society PRESENTER: DATE: john a. powell April 25, 2015
The problem of “Othering” is the problem of the 21 st century
In the United States…
sexua lity y abilit gend er ethnicity class ne o t n i sk age race rel ig ion Othering is a set of common processes that engender marginality and persistent inequality across any of the full range of human differences.
Mechanisms of Othering in the Mind The human brain processes 11 million bytes of information per second • Consciously aware of any 40 of these, at best • Only 2% of emotional cognition is available to us consciously • Messages can be framed to speak to our unconscious The process of Othering occurs in our unconscious network: this can lead to racial, ethnic, or religious bias [4]
Mechanisms of Othering in the Mind cont. Three processes of the subconscious: 1 2 3 = Sorting into categories Creating associations between things Filling in the gaps when we only receive partial information Schemas: the “frames” through which our brains help us understand navigate the world
Paternalistic stereotype Admiration low status, not competitive high status, not competitive Contemptuous stereotype Envious stereotype low status, competitive high status, competitive Susan Fiske’s Stereotype Content Model
What are the structures that affect our lives?
These structures are connected They affect our identities and the world around us
Understanding Ourselves within Structures We are all situated within structures but not evenly Cultural Structures Physical Structures OUTCOMES Social Structures These structures interact in ways that produce a differential in outcomes
2014 New York Times Article: The Great White Hope “Exposure to the changing demographics of the United States evokes the expression of greater explicit and implicit racial bias. ”
The Cycle of Implicit Bias Historical & Ongoing Segregation Structural & Systemic Inequalities Self. Reinforcing Expectations Racialized Schemas Implicit Bias
SPATIAL, RACIAL, AND OPPORTUNITY OTHERING IMPACT LIFE OPPORTUNITIES Health School segregation Educational achievement Exposure to crime; arrest Neighborhood Segregation Limited access to Transportation and other public services Job segregation Racial stigma and other psychological issues (Mental Health? ) Community (access to decision makers and? ? ) power and individual assets
Othering & Colorblind Ideology Racial ideology says: treat individuals as equally as possible Focuses on commonalities between individuals, such as their shared humanity, without attending to inherited differences in power and access resulting from historical legacy of race, culture, and ethnicity [ 13 ]
Colorblindness: Hegemonic Language of Neoliberalism (Omi & Winant 2014) Imagine neoliberalism as a car • Colorblindness and/or strategic anxiety as the gas or fuel • It is the force that “drives” neoliberalism [ 14 ]
Dog Whistle Politics Barry Goldwater Richard Nixon Ronald Reagan “States’ Rights” “Law & Order” “War on Drugs” Coded messages and heightened anxiety
Rene Descartes I think; therefore I am. I regard the body as a machine so built and put together… that still, although it had no mind, it would not fail to move.
Othering & Political Polarization Dominant hierarchy of organizing our sense of self: What happens when the hierarchy is reversed?
Example: Income Inequality & Political Polarization
HOW CAN WE PRACTICE BELONGING IN OUR EVERYDAY LIVES?
We are all androgynous, not only because we are all born of a woman impregnated by the seed of a man but because each of us, helplessly and forever, contains the other — male in female, female in male, white in black and black in white. We are a part of each other. Many of my countrymen appear to find this fact exceedingly inconvenient and even unfair, and so, very often, do I. But none of us can do anything about it. — James Baldwin
1. EXPAND THE CIRCLE OF HUMAN CONCERN Sexual Minorities Mass Incarcerated Citizens Children Mothers Elderly Undocumented Immigrants Muslims
UNFORTUNATELY, THIS IS OUR REALITY Citizens Sexual Minorities Incarcerated and formerly incarcerated Corporations Mothers Children Undocumented Immigrants Elderly Muslims
2. Determine points of intervention Structural interventions alone do not help change dominant conversations that racialize. How we talk about race matters • Need to create an empathetic space What work are the structures doing? • • Importance of understanding at the macro-level • Importance of leverage points Importance of understanding relationality within systems: density and thickness [ 22 ]
3. Frame conversations around… • Unity • • Linked Fate • • Focus on terms that bring people together rather than those that are divisive A “we” perspective rather than an “us/them” mindset “We the people” recognizes all the people The fates of all people are linked We need to understand the effect that institutional arrangements have on all individuals [ 23 ]
4. Highlight deep shared values Unity Security Opportunity Community Mobility Redemption Fairness Liberty [ 24 ]
5. CREATE A CULTURE OF BELONGING Sawubona Zulu greeting “We see you” • • An invitation to a deep witnessing and presence. This greeting forms an agreement to affirm and investigate the mutual potential and obligation that is present in a given moment.
ACHIEVING TRANSFORMATIVE CHANGE Power (Organization & Collaboration) Impact Implicit Bias (Communication) Systems Thinking How do we ensure that our everyday transactional work is not hindering transformative change, but rather supports it?
For more information, visit: http: //www. iupress. indiana. edu/catalog/806639 Like the Haas Institute on Facebook! www. facebook. com/haasinstitute [ 27 ]
Appendix: Domains of Space Public Private Non-public Non-private Corporate
Appendix: Processes of Exploitation & Opportunity Hoarding • Charles Tilly’s identification of unconscious bias into social structures: exploitation and opportunity hoarding • Corporate space diminishes public and private space
Non-public/Non-private Space • • This space is highly marginalized for individuals who enjoy neither public rights nor private freedom Today, immigrants, incarcerated, disabled, and other marginalized racial subjects Public Private Nonpublic/nonprivate Corporate [ 30 ]
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