13th colloquium of the sookmyung research institute of humanities
To reflect on various hate issues that are causing discrimination in our society, the Humanities Korea Plus (HK+) of the Sookmyung Research Institute of Humanities has been working on an agenda titled "The Age of Hate, the Response of Humanities." On August 24, the institute held its 13th Colloquium "Hate, Compassion, Discrimination, and Disability" at Sookmyung Women's University's Veritas Building. It aimed to look at the issue of hate from the perspective of the humanities and understand the value of coexistence, and further seeks to organize academic conferences, special lectures, seminars, and colloquiums. The colloquium addressed the issue of hate, sympathy, and discrimination related to the impairment, and the speaker was Kim Do-hyun, a teacher of an evening class for disabled people and a researcher at the Nodeul Disability Studies Institute. He explained that the concept of hate is not just a feeling of dislike, but something that is expressed and accompanied by hostility toward social minorities. This shows that the concept of hate needs to be understood in a broad sense, considering the social context. He also illustrated that when women, disabled people, etc., who are usually perceived as objects of protection, show their subjectivity, they can be easily transformed into targets of hate as they deviate from the roles and behaviors expected of them. This discussion was followed by an explanation of the connection between meritocracy and hate against minorities. The speaker said that under a meritocracy, where individuals are rewarded based on their abilities, social minorities become "people provided with limited resources without effort," leading to hostility towards them. He added "Discrimination made disability," explaining that certain social environments and contexts create discrimination. After the lecture, Lim Ji-ho, Department of Public Administration '23, said, "I've always been interested in how to help eliminate discrimination, and the lecture made me think about which issue should be prioritized, institutionalization or efforts to improve awareness." In this regard, the colloquium is recommended for students interested in human rights and hate issues.
