alteritism means an approach in postcolonial literary criticism that seeks to bypass orientalist or Eurocentric perspectives but, in foregrounding otherness, reproduces colonial ideas of the exotic. It carries an Arena rating of 1134, earned across 49 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, alteritism ranks #175 of 17,138 for Most Incisive Words, #383 of 17,151 for The Improbable, #1,815 of 17,128 for Most Ponderous Words, #2,563 of 17,132 for Most Betrayed by Its Sound.
Why “alteritism” is a great word
ALTERITISM — [Noun] A critical practice that, in its earnest attempt to reject Eurocentric frameworks, paradoxically reinforces colonial habits of thought by fixating on and essentializing difference. Coined by Sara Suleri Goodyear from 'alterity' (meaning 'otherness') and the suffix '-ism' (denoting a practice or system). Unlike "Orientalism" (a Western tradition of constructing and dominating the exotic 'other') or "continuism" (an approach stressing historical connection), alteritism is a critical reaction that, in its insistence on radical incommensurability, constructs an equally static and exoticized subject. It is the curator’s hushed reverence that renders an artifact untouchably alien; the academic text that proclaims a culture only in terms of its impenetrable mystery; the theoretical posture that, in its zeal to not speak *for*, ultimately decides it cannot speak *with*. The tragedy is not in the failure to understand, but in the conscientious construction of a new solitude.
Etymology
Coined by Sara Suleri Goodyear, from alterity + -ism
noun
- An approach in postcolonial literary criticism that seeks to bypass orientalist or Eurocentric perspectives but, in foregrounding otherness, reproduces colonial ideas of the exotic.
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
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