TOPIC

Othering



“Othering” is what we call the often-invisible mechanism communities use to exclude other people from joining the community, drawing the line that differentiates between “us” and “them.” When we turn a group of people into the “other,” we are “othering” them. Usually this is done in subtly or overtly dehumanizing ways that presents individuals as “less than”—less human, less worthy of respect, less deserving of political rights, social access, and economic opportunities—than the dominant group. Any reason can be used as a basis for othering, from gender or religious affiliation to which sports team someone roots for. Othering can reinforce bonds and foster a sense of belonging within the dominant community, but it is incredibly harmful to those who are excluded, builds up fear of exclusion and rejection within the community, and is the underpinning of all systemic injustices within a society.

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How Alienation Became My Superpower

Feeling like an outsider can be painful. But it comes with secret gifts of perception.

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07:55

The Neuroscience of Disconnection

With a neuroscience lens, Erica Peng, Faculty at UC Berkeley Haas School of Business, explains what's happening in our brain and body in moments of conflict and disconnection, and one strategy for how we can make our way back to connection.

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Only Bridging Can Heal a World of Breaking

Diversity can be a great strength, but it is susceptible to manipulation when not accompanied by community leaders from all backgrounds willing and able to bridge across difference.

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FindCenterIntimate relationships teach us that the more we relate to each other as objects, the greater our disappointment. The trick . . . is to use this disappointment to change the way we relate.

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41:47

Building Belonging in a Time of Othering, with john a. powell | #OBConf2019

Haas Institute director john a. powell gives a keynote talk on how a belonging paradigm can reshape our world for the better, with an introduction by The California Endowment’s Tony Iton.

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Traci Blackmon: If These Walls Could Talk

The Rev. Traci Blackmon, Associate General Minister of Justice and Local Church Ministries United Church of Christ, marks the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

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40:54

Jamie Wheal: How to Spot a Cult

In his bestseller, Stealing Fire, Jamie Wheal talked about peak experiences and group flow states as the cutting edge for human evolution. But since then, he’s become more and more concerned by how these techniques are being used and abused.

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FindCenterOur behavior toward others is often a reflection of our treatment of ourselves.

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Curiosity and What Equality Really Means

Insisting that people are equally worthy of respect is an especially challenging idea today. In medicine, you see people who are troublesome in every way: the complainer, the person with the unfriendly tone, the unwitting bigot, the guy who, as they say, makes “poor life choices.”

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12:37

Stereotypes vs. Archetypes—Hilary Blair—TEDxCherryCreekWomen

If human connection is essential, why do we thwart it by stereotyping others? Stereotypes are the fast-food of human connection: they fail to nourish us and, in the end, are detrimental to our thriving.

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Belonging