Sailing creatively the seas of dissent or how to make other ontological and epistemological commitments

BRIONES, C.

Sidney

Conferencia; AILASA 2014, Conference Theme: Voicing Dissent; 2014

AILASA

Since the last few decades, multiculturalism/interculturalidad promises to be the conceptual space wherein to produce cohabitation agreements, and resolve disagreements without imposing a unique perspective which neutralizes the very richness of cultural diversity. However, as has been discussed extensively, multiculturalism/interculturalidad is a problematic concept that can be defined and managed in many different ways. Two key aspects of its problematic nature are linked to what is meant by cultural diversity and to what is considered legitimate or bearable dissents. Starting from the idea that cultural diversity is a way of thinking the social instead of the bare reality, my presentation aims at exploring the idea of dissent, from a critical double argument. First, dissent helps define what counts or not as cultural difference ? be it considered legitimate or not. Second, the label "cultural difference" is deployed on, and conflates, different levels or dimensions of conflict. In other words, the idea of difference accepted by hegemonic concepts of multiculturalism/interculturalidad tends to confuse or equate conflicts which can have a different basis, i.e., ideological, epistemological, or ontological. Hence, more often than not, the crucial flaw of politics of knowledge related to multicultural/intercultural arrangements comes from looking for unique responses to disagreements which have uneven foundations, dynamics and effects. Therefore, my presentation will be focused on mapping out the fundamentals, dynamics and effects of different forms of dissent. To do so, I propose to learn with and from the artist Escher how to practice a politics of knowledge that allows us to identify various levels of dissent, as a starting point to make other epistemological and ontological commitments.