The Other Journal: Identity

FEATURING: Judith Butler Lia Chavez Katherine James D. S. Martin Thomas Nail PLUS: What Does Where You're From Matter? * Ta-Nehisi Coates and the Power of Lament * Sing More Like a Girl * Jesus Doesn't Want Me for a Sunbeam * Occupied Identity * What's So Holy about Matrimony? AND MORE . . . ""We the people . . ."" So begins the familiar first line to the Preamble of the United States Constitution. But even in its initial context, in a document intended to be a manifesto of hope and freedom, the matter of who exactly was to be included in this ""we"" was unclear and contested. First-person pronouns (i.e., I and we) roll off the tongue-or onto parchment paper-with ease, but their common use often belies an underlying complexity. Who am I? Who are we? Who does my theology say that I am? Identity is at the same time essential to life and yet also deeply contested, problematic, and enigmatic. The world may be becoming more one and, yet, it seems also to be becoming more different, fragmented, agonistic, and isolated. In this issue of The Other Journal, we explore the valences of identity, both individual and communal, personal and public. We take up the theme of identity in multiple ways, examining its interconnections with gender and race, the dissolution and reconstitution of borders, and, yes, even the 2016 presidential campaign. The issue features essays by Derek Brown, Zach Czaia, Ryan Dueck, Julie M. Hamilton, Peter Herman, Zen Hess, Kimberly Humphrey, Katherine James, Russell Johnson, Sus Long, Willow Mindich, Angela Parker, Taylor Ross, and Erick Sierra; interviews by Stephanie Berbec and Zachary Thomas Settle with Judith Butler and Thomas Nail, respectively; poetry by T. M. Lawson, D. S. Martin, Oluwatomisin Oredein, and Erin Steinke; performance art by Lia Chavez; and photography by Jennifer Jane Simonton, Pilar Timpane, and Mark Wyatt.