Shaping Dignities – A pluralistic and relational approach to dignity using arts-based methods

Summary While the concept of ‘dignity’ builds a cornerstone of Human Rights, as well as international and national legal structures, it has been critiqued since its inception, particularly in regards to issues of diversity. This paper argues that, if we aim to respond to the major ongoing struggles, we need to enhance our awareness about different approaches to dignity that coexist but are not equally attended or represented in the legal field. In this vein, I propose an exercise and utilize the experience of an arts-based workshop conducted recently with social scientists on the issue as material to explore different shapes of dignity. In order to engage with this material, I introduce approaches of the field of Peace Studies (Many Peaces Theory by Wolfgang Dietrich) and contemporary political philosophy (Donna Haraway), as helpful theoretical frameworks. On this base, I propose that a revised view on dignity can offer us a more relational, integrative and useful perspective in the field of law and Human Rights.