Selfing as, with, and without othering: Dialogical (im)possibilities with Dialogical Self Theory

Abstract

This essay critically reflects on the hegemonic conceptions of the self and its instrumentalization in modern psychology to fit modern Western society in general. Not only that various metaphysical, metatheoretical, theoretical and methodological commitments are seen as serious obstacles to fulfil the apparent epistemological desire for a paradigmatic shift towards a dynamic, relational and pluralist worldview as illustrated by Dialogical Self Theory in particular but also the conceptual confusion between various key categories of human subjectivity such as the self, identity, otherness, difference, alterity, sociality and the reductionism of position categories is drawn attention to. Departing from the Handbook of Dialogical Self Theory, Dialogical Self Theory's appropriation of Bakhtinian notion of dialogic is put into question. In order to accentuate the moral, historical and sociopolitical aspects of dialogical self-reflexivity and psychic, microgenetic, ontogenetic and socicogenetic processes, the concept of 'selfing' is introduced in three distinct relations with the concept of 'othering' for its significant implications for the post-/late-modern glocal world.

Sociocultural trail within the dialogical self: I-positions, institutions, and cultural armory

“…DST is a promising epistemological agenda that draws out the effects of globalization and multiculturalism. In arguing that social discourses are cultural emblems that cut through cultural borders and institutions (Gu¨lerce, 2014), DST researchers are typically concerned with individuals' multiple identification through socialization in local and global cultures. Yet, a closer inspection of the acculturation challenges of EM students, there is a need to reframe the understanding on how these individuals (re-)present themselves in institutional spaces to better account for their development of hybrid culture and identities.…”

Identity, interpretation, and the moral ecology of learning

“…In light of the strong connection drawn between identity and learning in this literature, and parallel hermeneutic arguments to the effect that identity is a kind of moral position-taking (Brinkmann, 2004; Sugarman, 2005), I wish to suggest that situated learning and hermeneutics may be woven together in a way that raises an important implication not yet explored in either the hermeneutic or situated learning literatures, though scholars in cultural psychology and related subfields have discussed similar themes in other ways (e.g., Branco & Valsiner, 2012; Gülerce, 2014; Jensen, 2015). Stated concisely, this implication holds that if identity is a moral phenomenon, then the formation of identities is entailed within a moral enterprise and constitutes the manner in which one comes to identify with practices that embody a moral stance toward cultural possibilities.…”

Consuming Worker Exploitation? Accounts and Justifications for Consumer (In)action to Modern Slavery

“…A key tactic used to diminish slaves' claim to moral status and, thus, sense of moral obligation was that of othering. Through the use of othering practices (see e.g., Gülerce, 2014), informants created distance and difference between themselves and the slaves. This allowed them to justify why it is acceptable for slaves to be subject to conditions of severe exploitation, while this would not be acceptable for them personally.…”