In recent years while the Australian government has been criticized for its harsh treatment of refugees and Indigenous Australians, the country has simultaneously cultivated harmonious cross-cultural relations at both civic and intimate personal levels. Small country towns, aiming to stimulate economies, have welcomed Iraqi and Afghani refugees, and local communities have met with Aboriginal people to participate in the government initiated Reconciliation project.

This paper will examine the effectiveness of staged encounters, demonstrating how they diverge from yet also complement formal legislation or random meetings. They do not rely on codified guidelines and they do not aim to promote "knowledge" of the other from a fixed and distanced position. They encourage engagement rather than a passive diversity and they invite active participation from those dominant groups who believe that they have been sidelined in the nation. Staged local and everyday encounters can potentially shift the impasses of group identity politics. On a daily basis power fluctuates and perceptions are tested as subjectivities are negotiated. An encounter need not reach a final harmonious outcome but instead it can be an ongoing process that encompasses conflict and change.

Staged encounters begin with an openness to the other albeit inspired by multiple motives. This paper will consider the complexities of an ethical engagement with an "other" as expounded by Luce Irigaray. She recently suggested that her theories of gender relations are also applicable to other forms of co-existence. This paper will focus on her theory of recognition and assess its relevance to contemporary Australian cases.

Keywords

• Refugees
• Indigenous Australians
• Recognition
• Cross-Cultural Relations
• Reconciliation
• Ethical Engagement

Person as Subject

• Irigaray, Luce

(Virtual Presentation, English)