Columbia University Press Marginality: Solidarity and the Fight for Social Change

"The pandemic exposed and exacerbated a number of issues in American society, a trend that has only increased in its aftermath. Racism, sexism, and economic inequity have revealed their bare faces and further stigmatized already marginalized groups. These are hardly new phenomena, but as human beings tout progress, development, and scientific and technological achievements, marginality stands in sharp contrast and makes it more urgent to assess our claims about what it means to be human and what kind of world humans have achieved. The book explores different forms of marginality resulting from migration, exclusion, violence, and competition, their logic and effects, their force and strategy, and their potential to be reimagined, evaluating Buddhist, existentialist, and Black philosophical traditions, literary works such as Han Gang's The Vegetarian, and films including Raoul Peck's I Am Not Your Negro, as well as the author's personal story, as lenses to interpret our daily experiences of marginality andunderstand their theoretical dimensions. Park does not offer the reader a dystopian worldview. Instead, she reframes a "solidarity of the margins," as shown in the work of Japanese feminist Chizuko Ueno, as a tool for challenging the status quo and acting as a force for social change"-- Provided by publisher. This groundbreaking book reimagines marginality as a transformative force, interweaving personal narratives with cultural, literary, and philosophical analysis to reveal how perspectives from the margins can catalyze social change. In a deeply unequal world, numerous categories of people have been consigned to disadvantaged positions. Are those on society’s fringes doomed to remain there, or might marginality offer potential pathways toward a more equitable future?This groundbreaking book reimagines marginality as a transformative force, interweaving personal narratives with cultural, literary, and philosophical analysis to reveal how perspectives from the margins can catalyze social change. Drawing on her own experiences as an Asian American female philosopher specializing in non-Western thought within an academic world dominated by white male–centered Western traditions, Jin Y. Park argues that personal stories are essential to philosophical inquiry. Ranging across non-Western philosophy, South Korean literature, and Asian American and African American voices as well as Western philosophy, she invites readers to examine their own feelings of marginality, reflecting on how lived experiences shape the search for meaning and values.Bridging theoretical insights and real-world issues, Marginality offers fresh perspective on contemporary challenges such as violence, social discrimination, and economic inequality. Urging a radical rethinking of how we understand power, community, and social justice, this book calls on readers to embrace the solidarity of the margins to drive positive change. Autorid: Jin Y. Park