Blog Post #1: Othering

 

Expecting shrinks and spells, the etymology of Accio and the chronology of Ancient cults, the concept of Othering was one of the last things I expected to discuss last Wednesday. Yet, nonetheless, its discussion in this class was extremely apt. Though it may have caught me off guard initially, half a second of careful consideration helped realize just how applicable it is to 1690’s Salem and the fates of other magical practitioners throughout space and time.

To refresh, Othering is concept derived from the social psychology sphere that attempts to determine why and how humans group themselves into categories such as race, gender, and other common identifiers. For the unfortunate out-group, it usually leads to dehumanization, marginalization, and the occasional stake burning. It is frequently mentioned in the context of legal, epistemological, and sociological studies. In fact, classes on these subjects were where the term first reached my ears.

So, again, imagine my surprise when I hear Othering acknowledged in a class not titled PHIL 40353 Seminar in Political Philosophy. However, if the discussions in those classes taught me anything, it would be that Othering is applicable in many aspects of the human experience, especially when magic and murder are involved.

In a time of fear and frustration, trials and tribulations, it’s not hard to understand the mindset of those who espoused the rhetoric that would led to the fates of the accused. By 1692, the Massachusetts Bay Colony had become more secular than the original Puritans ever intended to be, igniting concern among the more conservative members of that community. Naturally, their own flaws and failure could never be to blame, so this “curse from God” must have some external source. Women, especially women on the outskirts of society, were the obvious scapegoat. Already on a lower rung of liberty, these women were powerless to prevent the association of their sex with avenues for evil.

Of course, from there, the story is well-known. However, it is important to remember that Othering was a significant factor in the events of this period and an important reminder of what can happen when that concept goes unchecked. After all, Othering is usually evoked in the context of modern-day race relations, which generally have a less violent tinge, at least compared to the atrocities of 1690’s Salem. Let not the romanticism of that period cloud its psychological underpinnings – modern society is not necessarily immune from such mania.

Comments

  1. williams.dan76September 10, 2024 at 8:29 AM

    What a great first blog entry. Thanks, Ian. I am impressed by the depth and range of your comments. There are modern day historians who discuss witch persecutions as a kind of social safety valve. As you wrote above, during times of fear and frustration, trial and tribulation witch hysteria and persecutions appeared. And those accused also tended to be marginalized types. This is certainly a description for the act of othering. You are right--othering is most often discussed in terms of race, but it also helps understand all social boundary-markers when "outsiders" are ostracized for being different. I think another way of describing witch persecutions is that witches were a type of scapegoat, a convenient and expedient way of blaming and thus explaining. I look forward to reading more of your entries.

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