Sarah Carey presents “On Shores and Borderlands: Experiences of Linguistic Alienation in Derrida and Anzaldúa”

Drawing on the works of Jacques Derrida and Gloria Anzaldúa, this talk analyzes the phenomenon of linguistic alienation that marginalized subjects experience under colonialism. Derrida, who grew up Jewish in French colonial Algeria, and Anzaldúa, who grew up Chicana in south Texas, on the border of the United States and Mexico, give resonant accounts of their childhoods as defined by a sense of living on the edge, torn between cultures. Taken together, both thinkers reveal the inextricable relationship between their identities and the languages they speak. The colonial devaluation and suppression of their language leads to a feeling of alienation not only from their native language, but also a loss of their very sense of self. Both thinkers show, however, that shores and borderlands can be more than sites of oppressive alienation. Shores and borderlands can become fertile grounds for what seems impossible: the creation of new, resistant languages and identities.

Sarah Carey is a doctoral candidate in Philosophy. Originally from Oregon, she earned her bachelor of arts degree in Philosophy from the University of Oregon. Her research areas include feminist philosophy, twentieth-century French philosophy, ethics, and decolonial theory. She has presented her work at forums such as the Latina/x Feminisms Roundtable and the international Derrida Today conference. She will defend her dissertation this summer.