Drawing on Emmanuel Levinas’ ethical framework and its emphasis on the “height and excess” of “the Other,” this thesis explores and develops a sense of “radical hospitality” in Levinas and across Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. In particular, the thesis explores how encounter with the Other is not only marked by an overwhelming excess, but one which transforms the subject into what I call a “New Host Self:” Where the self is the host who greets the stranger with hospitality, it is ultimately the stranger—the refugee, the migrant—who transforms the host into someone new. Here, the host ultimately receives a gift from the guest—and we can in this regard speak of a paradox in which the host/giver ultimately becomes a receiver/guest. After exploring radical hospitality in a range of philosophical and religious text traditions, I go on to share a personal narrative of my own experiences both as a migrant and serving refugees, considering in particular how radical hospitality can—in its capacity to precipitate a new sense of self as host—reorient our political selves towards better serving neighbors in need.
","abstract_html":"<p>Drawing on Emmanuel Levinas’ ethical framework and its emphasis on the “height and excess” of “the Other,” this thesis explores and develops a sense of “radical hospitality” in Levinas and across Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. In particular, the thesis explores how encounter with the Other is not only marked by an overwhelming excess, but one which transforms the subject into what I call a “New Host Self:” Where the self is the host who greets the stranger with hospitality, it is ultimately the stranger—the refugee, the migrant—who transforms the host into someone new. Here, the host ultimately receives a gift from the guest—and we can in this regard speak of a paradox in which the host/giver ultimately becomes a receiver/guest. After exploring radical hospitality in a range of philosophical and religious text traditions, I go on to share a personal narrative of my own experiences both as a migrant and serving refugees, considering in particular how radical hospitality can—in its capacity to precipitate a new sense of self as host—reorient our political selves towards better serving neighbors in need.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Alikhani, Diako"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Ph.D.","degree_level":"Dissertation","degree_discipline":null,"degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Sarah Pessin","Andrea Stanton","Ted Vial"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2024,"date_issued":"2024-06-15T07:00:00Z","date_published":"2024-06-15T07:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:01:48Z","subjects":["Philosophy","Radical hospitality","Emmanuel Levinas","Judaism","Christianity","Islam","Arts and Humanities","Islamic Studies","Jewish Studies","Religion","Religious Thought, Theology and Philosophy of Religion"],"languages":["English (eng)"],"rights":["Copyright is held by the author. User is responsible for all copyright compliance.
"],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://digitalcommons.du.edu/etd/2387","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Sarah Pessin","Andrea Stanton","Ted Vial"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Alikhani, Diako"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Dissertation"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Ph.D."]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Philosophy","Radical hospitality","Emmanuel Levinas","Judaism","Christianity","Islam","Arts and Humanities","Islamic Studies","Jewish Studies","Religion","Religious Thought, Theology and Philosophy of Religion"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:language","label":"Dc Language","values":["English (eng)"]},{"key":"dc:rights","label":"Dc Rights","values":["Copyright is held by the author. User is responsible for all copyright compliance.
"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://digitalcommons.du.edu/etd/2387"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["Drawing on Emmanuel Levinas’ ethical framework and its emphasis on the “height and excess” of “the Other,” this thesis explores and develops a sense of “radical hospitality” in Levinas and across Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. In particular, the thesis explores how encounter with the Other is not only marked by an overwhelming excess, but one which transforms the subject into what I call a “New Host Self:” Where the self is the host who greets the stranger with hospitality, it is ultimately the stranger—the refugee, the migrant—who transforms the host into someone new. Here, the host ultimately receives a gift from the guest—and we can in this regard speak of a paradox in which the host/giver ultimately becomes a receiver/guest. After exploring radical hospitality in a range of philosophical and religious text traditions, I go on to share a personal narrative of my own experiences both as a migrant and serving refugees, considering in particular how radical hospitality can—in its capacity to precipitate a new sense of self as host—reorient our political selves towards better serving neighbors in need.
"]},{"key":"dc:format","label":"Dc Format","values":["application/pdf"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Radical Hospitality: Height and Excess of the Other and the New Host Self"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Sarah Pessin","Andrea Stanton","Ted Vial"],"dc:creator":["Alikhani, Diako"],"dc:description.abstract":["Drawing on Emmanuel Levinas’ ethical framework and its emphasis on the “height and excess” of “the Other,” this thesis explores and develops a sense of “radical hospitality” in Levinas and across Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. In particular, the thesis explores how encounter with the Other is not only marked by an overwhelming excess, but one which transforms the subject into what I call a “New Host Self:” Where the self is the host who greets the stranger with hospitality, it is ultimately the stranger—the refugee, the migrant—who transforms the host into someone new. Here, the host ultimately receives a gift from the guest—and we can in this regard speak of a paradox in which the host/giver ultimately becomes a receiver/guest. After exploring radical hospitality in a range of philosophical and religious text traditions, I go on to share a personal narrative of my own experiences both as a migrant and serving refugees, considering in particular how radical hospitality can—in its capacity to precipitate a new sense of self as host—reorient our political selves towards better serving neighbors in need.
"],"dc:format":["application/pdf"],"dc:identifier":["https://digitalcommons.du.edu/etd/2387"],"dc:language":["English (eng)"],"dc:rights":["Copyright is held by the author. User is responsible for all copyright compliance.
"],"dc:subject":["Philosophy","Radical hospitality","Emmanuel Levinas","Judaism","Christianity","Islam","Arts and Humanities","Islamic Studies","Jewish Studies","Religion","Religious Thought, Theology and Philosophy of Religion"],"dc:title":["Radical Hospitality: Height and Excess of the Other and the New Host Self"],"thesis:degree_level":["Dissertation"],"thesis:degree_name":["Ph.D."]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:01:48Z"}