Third ISA Forum of Sociology (July 10-14, 2016)

307

Classifications of Otherness I

RC25 Language and Society (host committee)

Language: Spanish, French and English

This session is concerned with the role of language in processes of othering, in the construction of social categories as the “other”. It intends to address the language used to classify (and exclude) in terms of race/ethnicity, gender/sexuality, class/socioeconomic position, and religion, among others.
The language of classifications inform both about changes in how out-groups are categorized and how in-groups identify themselves. The process of “othering” requires not only a definition (and exclusion) of the “other”, but also an understanding of the “self.”
How is the “other” defined? How have the borders shifted in recent years? What does it tell about the identity of those who use a given classification? What are the social consequences of such classifications? What are the power structures sustaining such classifications? What are some of the current struggles to challenge those classifications? These are some of the questions that we expect to address during the session. 
Contributions will shed light on the variability of classifications of otherness, changes through time and struggles to challenge them. Contributors are especially invited to articulate various classifications in an intersectional perspective, and to consider how the global dimension interact with the(se) classification(s) of otherness they analyze. We welcome analysis of how classifications operate in different forms of talk and text, from everyday conversations, to institutional talk and text. Posters: