Introduction to the summer school "Intersections Reimagining Identities, Positionalities, Multiplicities, Alterities"

In this presentation, delivered during the opening session of the TransHumanities summer school, "Intersections: Reimagining Identities, Positionalities, Multiplicities, Alterities", organized by the Graduate School of the Arts and Humanities (Walter Benjamin Kolleg), I introduced the themes of the summer school by reflecting on the significance of collective and critical discussions surrounding identity, positionality, multiplicity, alterity, and intersectionality. The presentation also considered the relevance of these discussions in addressing historical complexities and contemporary crises, such as global health challenges, climate change, and humanitarian tragedies and wars.
Using my own research as a starting point, I argued that the application of an intersectional matrix—incorporating gender, ethnicity, class, and religion—to Islamic legal sources can illuminate the lives and identities of enslaved individuals. I focused particularly on eunuchs, whose roles often transcended traditional categorizations: while marginalized by their status and physical condition, eunuchs frequently occupied positions of authority and power. Their multifaceted identities illustrate the interplay between dependency, slavery and freedom, challenging binary understandings of oppressed and oppressor, enslaver and enslaved. Drawing on bell hooks’ reflection on theory as a "location for healing," I reflected on how this analytical lens can contribute to a more nuanced understanding of the past.