Theories of the Stranger

Vince Marotta is Senior Lecturer in Sociology at Deakin University, Australia and Managing Editor of the Journal of Intercultural Studies (Taylor & Francis). He is co-editor of Intercultural Relations in a Global World (2011, Common Ground Pub) and Muslims in the West and the Challenges of Belonging (2012, MUP Academic).

• 1. Introduction2. Theories of the Stranger3. The Death of the ‘Classical Stranger’?4. Georg Simmel, the Stranger and the Sociology of Knowledge5. Civilisation, Culture and the ‘Marginal Man’6. The Hybrid of Modernity7. The Cosmopolitan Stranger: Mark II8. The Multicultural Civil Sphere and the Universality of Binary Codes9. The Cyborg Stranger and Posthumanism10. Conclusion: Intercultural Knowledge and the ‘Professional Stranger’

'Vince Marotta’s exploration of the idea of the stranger in the social sciences is a tour de force. Its critical insights combine to make an invaluable contribution to our understanding of the multiple ways the term has been and continues to be used, while pointing us in analytically productive directions.' - Peter Kivisto, Augustana College, U.S.A and St. Petersburg State University, Russia'Marotta presents a meticulous analysis of concepts of the stranger from Simmel’s classical statement through ideas of the ‘marginal man’ and cosmopolitanism to the emerging debate on the ‘cyborg’ and ‘posthumanism’. This is essential reading for those interested in the history of a key idea in social theory.' - Stephen Castles, University of Sydney, Australia