The Other and a Communicative Life

• Date: Wednesday, November 3, 2021

• Time: 12:00 - 1:00 pm

Speaker: Dr. Hochul Kwak

Dr. Hochul Kwak is a professor of Christian Ethics at United Graduate School of Theology, and a university chaplain at Yonsei University. He earned Ph.D in Theology, Ethics and Culture at Claremont Graduate University, California, U.S.A. His research areas include human rights and religion, climate crisis, and the study of the other.

Abstract

This lecture deals with the issue of communication with those who are different. We are living in a multicultural, multi religious, and multiethnic society. In a globalizing era, migration has brought salient differences to everywhere in the world. In a fast-changing society, the older generation has difficulty in understanding the younger generation. We are exposed to diverse kinds and levels of differences. While cultural differences can enrich our capacity to understand those who are different, we are witnessing exacerbation of cultural conflicts in every dimension of social life. Based on the concept of the other which is sophisticatedly developed by Emmanuel Levinas, this lecture aims at addressing such conflictual relationships among people in such a way as to build a constructive relationship with the other.