The Centre for Studies in Otherness is a collaborative project between scholars primarily from the University of Aarhus, Denmark and Mary Immaculate College, Limerick, Ireland.
The Centre works to initiate vigorous and productive interventions into nominal areas of otherness as a site for critical, socio-political, cultural, and literary exploration. As an international and multidisciplinary project, it also involves discussions and readings that relate to cultural theory, continental philosophy, sociology, postcolonial studies, psychoanalysis, gender studies, Gothic studies, postmodernism and poststructuralist theory.
The Centre promotes and envisages expanding and productive international collaboration; hence, we gladly invite fellow academics, writers, artists, individuals, and institutions from all countries, to convene and discuss representations of otherness in the arts.
Aarhus University, and its affiliation with the Centre for Studies in Otherness, has joined the EU funded project Open European Societies. This collaborative effort is designed to raise awareness of remembrance, common history and values and the Union’s aim that is to promote peace, its values and the well-being of its people by stimulating debate, reflection and development networks. Furthermore, it seeks to encourage democratic and civic participation of citizens at Union level, by developing citizens’ understanding of the volunteering at Union level.
These goals will be focused on presentation of cultural events, interviews and campaigns, and research projects aimed to better understand the stories of migration. Working with our eleven partner organizations, from eight countries (UK, Hungary, North Macedonia, Czech Republic, Greece, France, Germany and Denmark), we hope to foster conversations about the diverse citizenship in the EU and how we live together.
Representations of the Other: Language, Body and Space in Cross-Cultural Performances.
Representations of the Other is an independent project with an international outlook initiated by a group of theatre makers, researchers, writers and sociologists. Its aim is to establish a multi- layered platform for cross- cultural co-operation, research and debate within the field of theatre and performance. The project is also keen to engage with a large spectrum of social groups, enhancing social engagement and output through creating a forum for theatrical innovation and development. The main objective of this research is to foster communication and artistic creation within and/ or through theatre (both theory and practice) in and between various ethnic minorities and migrant communities across Europe.
The Centre
for Studies in Otherness has worked with the Nordic Network for Literary Transculturation Studies. Our combined research work brought representatives of the Centre for Otherness to two symposiums hosted by NNLTS, in Helsinki, and Bergen. We are also very pleased that our efforts in working together on issues related to transculturation has resulted in the publication of a special volume of our journal, Otherness: Essays & Studies, vol 3.1. Many thanks to Anne Holden Rønning for editing the issue, and to the authors, from both networks, for their valuable contributions.
The Irish Centre for Transnational Studies
The Irish Centre for Transnational Studies (ICTS) is a research centre focused on bringing together academic staff and postgraduate students at Mary Immaculate College, University of Limerick, and establish strong links to other national and international networks and centres of research. Drawing on the expertise in the departments of German Studies, French Studies, and Philosophy, their aim is to provide a unifying framework for the research outputs of staff with interests in the area of Transnational Studies across the departments at Mary Immaculate College and Plassey Campus, University of Limerick, and to enhance inter-institutional links with researchers in Ireland and abroad.
Double Dialogues is a refereed journal dealing with the discourse and practice of the arts, encompassing the visual arts, film, multi-media, dance, music, creative writing and theatre.
Issue Ten, the special edition journal issue, “Approaching Otherness”, introduced and edited by Maeve Tynan, was a research offshoot of the 2008 conference Otherness and the Arts, organised by the Centre. We would like to thank our contributors, the University of Aarhus for hosting our Otherness and the Arts Conference and to Deakin University (and in particular Ann McCullough) for her work in publishing the journal.
We look forward to future projects together.
