Date of Award

6-15-2024

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Ph.D.

Organizational Unit

Joint Ph.D. Program in Study of Religion

First Advisor

Sarah Pessin

Second Advisor

Andrea Stanton

Third Advisor

Ted Vial

Keywords

Philosophy, Radical hospitality, Emmanuel Levinas, Judaism, Christianity, Islam

Abstract

Drawing on Emmanuel Levinas’ ethical framework and its emphasis on the “height and excess” of “the Other,” this thesis explores and develops a sense of “radical hospitality” in Levinas and across Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. In particular, the thesis explores how encounter with the Other is not only marked by an overwhelming excess, but one which transforms the subject into what I call a “New Host Self:” Where the self is the host who greets the stranger with hospitality, it is ultimately the stranger—the refugee, the migrant—who transforms the host into someone new. Here, the host ultimately receives a gift from the guest—and we can in this regard speak of a paradox in which the host/giver ultimately becomes a receiver/guest. After exploring radical hospitality in a range of philosophical and religious text traditions, I go on to share a personal narrative of my own experiences both as a migrant and serving refugees, considering in particular how radical hospitality can—in its capacity to precipitate a new sense of self as host—reorient our political selves towards better serving neighbors in need.

Copyright Date

6-2024

Copyright Statement / License for Reuse

All Rights Reserved
All Rights Reserved.

Publication Statement

Copyright is held by the author. User is responsible for all copyright compliance.

Rights Holder

Diako Alikhani

Provenance

Received from ProQuest

File Format

application/pdf

Language

English (eng)

Extent

262 pgs

File Size

1.2 MB

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