Sorbonne Abu Dhabi hosts second day of 'Fear of the Other'

André LAKS's lecture titled Monsters and Barbarians: two figures of the other in Greek philosophy discussed if "The monster is first and foremost, internal; it is the one to be feared. As for the Barbarian, he is primarily non Greek, and is to be feared."

"There is recognition of his virtues, even giving him the privilege of holding ancestral wisdom. Hence we are called upon to wonder: on the one hand, on the level of philosophic tradition: what are the reasons that, in a limited number of texts, make the other actually become threatening (it is to a certain extent the case of Plato laws)? On the other hand, more generally, what is the relation between Greek philosophy and the 'Greeks'? The question is to know whether Greek philosophers have not, at this point just like others, thought against their culture, in line with the idea put forth earlier by Jakob Burkhardt." André stated.

Amina AL-Dahiri scoped a lecture titled 'Of the other' stating, "The fear of the other did not come from void and is not a new idea. It is an old idea, present since the advent of man on earth and with it, came a conflict between humans, whether on foods, grazing, land, power or money. This conflict was accompanied by the emergence of a fear of the other, with whom we are in conflict. Whether we know him or not, he is the source of our fear. This paper addresses 'the other' in general and the role of media in promoting this fear."

"Although there are a lot of factors that have contributed in promoting this fear, indeed media is nowadays one of these factors, given its influence on the public and its opinion. This is particularly true for television, due to its wide dissemination and the increased effect it has due to visual and sound effects, as well as its capacity for live broadcast. This paper on the role of communication in promoting fear of the Other, we will tackle several sub-axes that support the main axis: defining fear and defining the other; the role of media, and namely television, in promoting fear of the other," he added.

Abdullah Al-Dabbagh lectured on Islamophobia and the Intellectuals where he focused specifically on the British context will trace the background to Islamophobia and gives other examples from Europe and the United States. This shocking resurgence of racism among the British literary intelligentsia throws that whole tradition into perspective.

It may well be possible to argue for the continuous existence of a reactionary trend in British literature, with masked or unmasked racist overtones, from the early twentieth-century down to our times. Still, while the well-documented racism of some early modernist figures may have survived in a few writers of the post-war generation, the overwhelming tradition of liberalism still remains strong, in spite of what hopefully is a temporary setback, among British, as well as American and European writers.

Pr. Xavier Galmiche, PSUAD Academic Director of PSUAD lecture, titled Abderans, morons, peasants and other slobs: satirical representation of the other in Europe at the beginning of the XIX century stated, "In antiquity, the city of Abdera in Thrace was known for the ignorance and stupidity of its inhabitants: hence, Abderans constituted in western history one of the first groups to which was attributed a collective reputation for being stupid and dumb. This image was rediscovered in Europe at the end of the XVIII century, namely through The History of Abderans by German Author Christoph Martin Wieland. This paper will paint a panorama of variations of this picture (morons, peasants, and other slobs) in European cultures until 1848: it is used to represent stupidity attributed to neighbors and to ward off the fear they inspire by satire."

Dr. Ronald Perlwitz from Paris-Sorbonne lectured on 'Das fremdartig Bekannte': Strange familiarity in Callot by E.T.A. Hoffmann. He argued that "The genesis of the literary work of E.T.A. Hoffmann goes hand in hand with the definition of a new literary principle: the Callot way. A perspective aiming at alienating what is real, aesthetic of the artist refuge in a fantastic world, this way that will give its name to the first collection of Hoffmann's stories and which tackles another form of fear. Here, the emergence of fear, the anxiety of the unknown become means to overcome, even dismantle the world."

"Heir of the Novalis and Schlegel brothers thought, Hoffmann defined a new literary approach that does not aim to overcome fear, but rather to overcome, thanks to fear, a daily life that has become too burdensome. Based on this observation, we will try to show how in the different texts of the collection, fear becomes a central element of artistic production while contributing in the redefinition and precision of the principles of the romantic school," Perlwitz added.

The rest of the day included lectures held by both professors in Arabic, English and French with simultaneous translation ensuring the communication in the three languages at all times.

This international colloquium represents a true academic collaboration at its highest levels gathering professors from Sorbonne, as well as colleague professors from UAE University in Al Ain to discuss in a specialized academic context the concept of fear in all its faces. With the objective of being accessible for all, and sincere to the academic collaboration, the colloquium is scheduled on the second day at PSUAD campus and on the third day in Al Ain University.