Alterity in Modernity

Abstract

Departing from the notion of 'the stranger' in classical sociological literature (Alfred Schutz and Georg Simmel), the paper discusses the significance of two paradigmatic approaches, one of which has discursively branched off into modernity. In a world where the search for roots has become widespread - from the new social movements to the building of new nation-state, from identity politics to national identities - the multiple expression of exclusion has spread. A new kind of European citizen, a 'stranger', is being constructed. I argue that scientific discourses related to the intellectual heritage of Alfred Schutz have helped to create the 'stranger' and the 'non-stranger'. It is further argued that Simmel's approach is an alternative well worth highlighting.