PhD workshop: Language and identity in the intercultural encounter

When reflecting upon identity, we must bear in mind at least two levels on which we can analyse this concept: on one hand, the level of personal identity, on the other hand, the one of collective identity. But, under both of these perspectives, identity can be put into question as a concept. In the philosophical tradition, identity stands for stability, sameness and unity as opposed to changing and multiplicity. But is the concept of identity understood in these terms suitable for expressing our social being, or should we rather replace it with a notion that takes into account multiple allegiances and diversity, like for example the notion of “belonging” (appartenance)? On a personal level, one can belong to several groups or “social identities”, while on the collective level, we may ask the question of what ensures the cohesion of a community, and what defines its belonging.

Such an endeavour leads us to the problem of language: is speech the foundation of this cohesion, in such a way that the relation between language and identity is constitutive for both terms? Or, on the contrary, is linguistic congruence only a type of identification among others, language itself being but one of several markers of identity, along with ethnicity, tradition or religion? However, unlike religion, language is not exclusive. One can be born in several mother tongues, or one can displace oneself by learning other languages. Therefore, the question of a foreign language, just as the one of an identity translation, comes to the fore. In what our individuality is concerned, how does our relationship with our mother tongue change, if we experience our belonging to a community through a foreign language? In what the community itself is concerned, does its perception of identity change, by any means, through the encounter of the foreign?

What kind of in-between develops itself, then, in the middle ground of different cultures, which may speak the same religion or ethnicity, but not necessarily the same language? What kind of intercultural undergoing takes place, for example, between countries like Turkey, Iran and Iraq within Islam, or Switzerland as prelinguistic nationhood?  Is plurilingualism itself an indisputable reality, or should we all rather affirm, as Jacques Derrida invites us to do, that we have only but one language, which though never belongs to us? In this respect, the question of identity is set upon new ground, opening inner finitude proper to any inclusion, just as to any ownership.

The workshop is part of a series of workshops aiming to establish an academic network of PhD-students who are interested in the general topic of “Intercultural Philosophy and Global Epistemologies”.

Main topics addressed

• Identity
• Foreignness
• Plurilingualism
• Relation between language and identity

Learning outcomes

The PhD students will get the chance to present their project to a broader interdisciplinary community. Additionally, they will learn about current research done in the field of language and identity.