Jesus and the Others: Otherness and Identity in the Gospel of John

Abstract

My dissertation explores the otherness of minor characters in the Gospel of John beyond a model of binary opposition. The recent trend of Johannine scholarship is to perpetuate negative portrayals of the minor characters, notably “the Jews,” within an either/or framework. However, the dissertation contends that the minor characters in John challenge and destabilize Johannine hierarchical dualism within a both/and framework, especially through ambiguity. By analyzing the narrative construction of identity through a deconstructive and postcolonial lens, I reimagine the otherness of John’s minor characters as ambiguous, internal, external, and transcendent. My original reworking of otherness thus investigates inclusive biblical interpretation aimed at enhancing tolerance of others in an increasingly globalized world by proposing otherness in solidarity across differences.