The stranger / Shaun Best.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

"This book explores the concept of the stranger as a "modern" social form, identifying the differing conceptions of strangerhood presented in the literature since the publication of Georg Simmel's influential essay 'The Stranger', questioning the assumptions around what it means to be regarded as "strange", and identifying the consequences of being labelled a stranger. Organised both chronologically and thematically, it begins with Simmel's major essays on the stranger and culminates with an analysis of Zygmunt Bauman's thought on the subject, with each chapter introducing an idea or key theme initially discussed by Simmel before discussing the development of the theme in the work of others, including Schutz, Agamben, Derrida, Butler, Levinas and Rorty. The stranger is an enduring concept across many disciplines and is central to contemporary debates about refugees, asylum, the nature of inclusion, exclusion and the struggle for recognition"-- Provided by publisher.