Description

By (author) Elias Norbert; By (author) Scotson, John L

Short /annotation:
A local community study of tense relations between an established group and outsiders becomes a microcosm that illuminates a range of sociological configurations. The Established and the Outsiders examines the mechanisms of stigmatization, monopolization of power, collective fantasy and `we′ and `they′ images which support and reinforce divisions in society.

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The Established and the Outsiders is a classic text from one of the major figures of world sociology. This new edition includes a theoretical introduction, published in English for the first time.

In Norbert Elias′s hands, a local community study of tense relations between an established group and outsiders – with no other discernible difference between them – becomes a microcosm that illuminates a wide range of sociological configurations including racial, ethnic, class and gender relations. The book examines the mechanisms of stigmatisation, taboo and gossip, monopolisation of power, collective fantasy and ′we′ and ′they′ images which support and reinforce divisions in society. Developing aspects of Elias′s thinking that relate his work to current sociological concerns, it presents the fullest elaboration of his concepts of mutual identification and functional democratisation.

The Established and the Outsiders not only brings out the important theoretical implications of micro-analysis but also demonstrates the significance of such detailed study analysis for better sociological theory. It is essential reading for students and scholars in social theory, sociology and anthropology.

Table of contents:
Introduction – Norbert EliasA Theoretical Essay on the Established and the OutsidersPrefaceConsiderations of ProcedureNeighbourhood Relations in the MakingOverall Picture of Zone 1 and Zone 2The Mother-Centred Families of Zone 2Local Associations and the ′Old Families′ Network′Overall Picture of Zone 3Observations on GossipYoung People in Winston ParvaConclusion

Review quote:
The Established and the Outsiders, is a reissue of a study carried out in the 1950s, while Elias was employed in the department of sociology at the University of Leicester. It is safe to say that it has been rescued from obscurity as part of the collective effort to publish as much of Elias′s oeuvre as possible…. [The book] is worth reading today primarily for the light it sheds on Elias′s intellectual development. Those interested in this aspect can read the introductory chapter, which was written by Elias ten years after the original date of publication for the Dutch edition. Here, Elias uncovers what he considers a universal human theme in the small community of Winston Parva on the outskirts of Leicester…. This particular case study is itself interesting in that these established and outsiders are formed out of the same social class, the working class of the British Midlands, on the basis of neighbourhood and life-style, not relation to the means of production or ethnic or racial differences. As in all his work, Elias uncovers here structural regularities which underlie historical variations in human behaviour…. Norbert Elias and his ardent followers have done sociology a great service in publishing [the book] which help[s] keep alive his interest in the long-term processes of social change. The “civilizing process” will remain a powerful research program for an historical sociology… capable of generating interesting case studies like The Established and the Outsiders.

Review quote:

The Established and the Outsiders was first published in 1965. It grew out of a study of a community near Leicester in the late 1950s and early 1960s by John Scotson, a local schoolteacher interested in juvenile delinquency. But in t