Lecture notes based on the “other” and Chicago School for essay.
Threats to social order
- Especially during global and social threats
- Try to make it controllable and predictable
Chicago school
- Social mobility and change
- Common theme is the strange/ others/ outsiders are seen as a threat to social order and linked to crime
- Important for understanding immigration/ BAME communities
Simmel
- Talks about how strangers are permanent members of society
- Close in physical attributes for example neighbours but far in cultural attributes
- Strangers or outsiders have stereotypical judgment on them
- Strangers were considered as temporary but now it is common to know strangers are near
- Argued that some believe it is not how we get rid of strangers now but how we deal with and live with them in contemporary life
- Liquid times and liquid modernity
- Fearlessly unpredictable actions the outsiders make
Immigrants as a symbolic threat
- Strangers we do not understand therefore it is believed they must be a threat
- Strangers represent a threat to security
- These can include a anti-social behaviour, terrorism etc which creates a threat to social order and “Britishness”
- Can cause riots and discomfort between communities such as 2001 race riots
Why the world fears refugees
- Precariat, walking on moving sands. Can include those from Siberia and Liberia, etc. It is seen they bring their troubles with them from their countries.
- Immigrants or BAME are structured as threats by this otio of precariaty
The notion of “do not talk to strangers”
- Communities that have community solidarity however this is a myth
- Be recollected in holidays we may go to – they are ordered and highly controlled, pure environments. Good for those whose homes they want to escape
Sociological roots
- Jock Young
- Looks at the late/ liquid modernity
- Moves away from the individual – this is a condition of late modernity that we depicted immigrants/ BAME in an othering process
- Difficulty to find distinction between different types of people – ordering takes place
- Alienated group
- Essentialism – whole racial group is grouped together
- Suggested by some that essentialism is by globalisation
Social construction
- “immigration”, “criminality”, “impurity” and “disease” etc
- BLM protests was deemed as wrong during times of a pandemic and more to blame for the spread of the virus but those celebrating VE day and going to the beach on nice days etc had virtually no blame.
Essay info
- Include critical argument
- Closely examine all different arguments for their merits and flaws
- Be prepared to critique the arguments you encounter from your sources. This means showing a willingness to challenge the assumptions that exist in the scholarship and to bring in your own analyses, insights and critiques.
- Show an understanding of the various and different perspectives that apply to your chosen topic
- Be prepared to evaluate and weigh up what you think are the most and least convincing arguments from your research before demonstrating how you have come to your conclusions about the issue
- Present your work properly referenced and in appropriate academic language
- Points to note:
- Be honest (know what you are talking about, and talk about what you know)
- Is this point necessary (be economical, direct, avoid fluff)
- Be aware (of merits and limitations of the arguments you deploy)
- Underpin your assertations with evidence – reference to the literature or data
- Demonstrate your take on the credibility/ limitations of any point/ perspective you are in discussion with.
