University, University permanence, Student-university relationship, Alterity

Abstract

This paper aims to think about the space destined to difference in Alain Coulon's theory of student affiliation. The condition of difference here is delegated to students who are unable or have difficulty in affiliating, since Coulon understands it from an adaptive aspect. To build this discussion, we start from Emmanuel Lévinas’ writings. He starts from the problem of alterity as a founding component of the human condition. Thus, this work is a theoretical study. It is concluded that the theory of student affiliation aims to replace foreignness in favor of achieving native status, avoiding student evasion. Therefore, the discussion proposed by Lévinas about ethics and the relationship with the otherness shows that there is no acceptance of the subject's condition of difference, since insertion in university requires a de-characterization of the student to achieve an ideal.