The Idea, Implementation and E

A detailed Summary of The Idea, Implementation and E

Alterity can be a powerful and unifying concept, serving to bring people together passionately towards a common goal. It has a far reaching effect in any scope or scale, from amalgamating warring local houses and tribes as in 11th Century France to coalescing adversative countries as in the Russian-American alliance during World War II. This essay will track the notion of alterity throughout history, starting with how it was used in The Song of Roland, and contain discussion regarding alterity's raison d'être, efficacy, consequences and outcomes.

Alterity often occurs when a group of people believes dogmatically that they are correct in their beliefs, thus making everyone else who does not believe exactly what they do incorrect. Non-believers are referred to as the "Other", a demeaning and debasing view that serves to empower the potential oppressors. In 10th and 11th Century France, habitually feuding lords united under the Catholic Church's cause of expanding Christendom, only to be content with the entire world united under God. As seen in Laisse 266 of The Song of Roland, "If there is one who now refuses Charles, he has that man struck dead...and they baptized more than a hundred thousand true Christians all", it is clea

The idea of alterity does not stop with 7th and 11th Century French, as shown in The Song of Roland, but rather has been used as a powerful ally in many latter day campaigns. After World War I Germany's infrastructure was desecrated, its currency inflated beyond all bounds, and its leadership disintegrated. Decades later a German named Adolf Hitler wrote Mein Kampf, where he displayed the notion of alterity towards the Jewish. In Volume One, Chapter II of Mein Kampf, Hitler states, "Hence today I believe that I am acting in accordance with the will of the Almighty Creator: by defending myself against the Jew, I am fighting for the work of the Lord." Compare this with Laisse 79 in The Song of Roland, which state "Pagans are wrong and Christians are right...Now may God grant us that." You will see that in both examples, as well as in a case I will illustrate later, God, the ultimate and infallible authority, is placed on the side of one power and through Him that power believes that they should eliminate all that oppose them. All that oppose are stereotypically grouped into a category labeled "Other", and are thus referred to as well as treated. Striving towards the abolishment of others serves to unite a people, such as with Germany before and during World War II when they concentrated their efforts on creating the Third Reich and desecrating the Jewish culture and peoples.

The idea of the "Other", known as alterity, was a much used concept in The Song of Roland. Whether subconsciously or otherwise, the peop

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Approximate Word count = 1028
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: English