Unbinding the other in the context of HIV/AIDS and education Peter Rule and Vaughn John Abstract Theorists in fields such as philosophy, psychology, sociology and education provide both positive and negative conceptions of ‘the other’. In relation to the social pathology of HIV/AIDS, ‘the other’ and ‘othering’ are themes that have particular pertinence. Data from an education research project in the Richmond area of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, provide evidence that the stigma associated with HIV/AIDS manifests itself in a radical ‘othering’ of those infected or otherwise directly affected by the disease, and that this is acutely perceived and reflected by children. Silence, secrecy, denial and distancing are strategies that people use to avoid HIV/AIDS stigmatization. One consequence is that discourses of communal trust and solidarity are undermined. However, a positive and inclusive conception of the other is evident in the discursive practices of HIV/AIDS support groups, and this opens up possibilities for a pedagogy of trust and connectedness that transgresses the stark boundary of ‘us’ and ‘them’ in the struggle against the disease and its associated stigma. A holistic approach to HIV/AIDS education acknowledges the complex ways in which the disease articulates with other barriers to learning in ‘othering’ those infected and affected; and affirms the key role that people infected and affected by HIV/AIDS have to play in educating their communities, thus rehabilitating ‘the other’. Introduction HIV/AIDS is the quintessential ‘other’ and this otherness is manifest at a variety of levels. At a biological level the virus disguises itself as a retrovirus and infects the body through its own defences. At a sociological level, it was initially associated with ‘the other’ in the form of homosexual men and drug users, and later more generally with marginalized groups such as sex workers, migrant workers and the poor. In Africa, AIDS is often associated with the otherness of bewitchment. Politically, AIDS is the other in relation to South Africa’s fledgling democracy, threatening to roll back the socio-political and economic gains of the post-apartheid era by sapping government resources and destabilizing social structures. Drawing on data from a research project in the Richmond area of KwaZulu-Natal, which studied HIV/AIDS as a barrier to basic education (Muthukrishna, 2006; John and Rule, 2006), this article explores HIV/AIDS in relation to ‘the other’ and the processes of ‘othering’. It