Simmel "The Stranger"

Question 1

What is The Stranger according to Simmel?

Answer 1

• a historical and symbolic figure
• near and remote at the same time
• all human relations have an element of strangeness to them. When becomes strangeness a problem?

Question 2

When does othering take place in The Stranger by Simmel?

Answer 2

• Trader: Not part of the community from the beginning. Unrooted and mobile. The unrooted are dependent on the ones that have land.
• Jews: Simmel was a jew, so the paper is a reflection of his own experience. Jews pay taxes differently than people who own land

Othering can only happen if you reflect on who is the self and who are others. You can only determine who is the self if you know who are others. You need interactions between individuals and groups

Question 3

When does exclusion take place in The Stranger by Simmel?

Answer 3

• If the stranger doesn’t own land he has no power. People can make sure he stays an other.
• Sometimes the stranger can be trusted with intimate thing to give objective advise (e.g. maffia)