Question

Have you ever felt different, like a social "other"? A social theorist named Georg Simmel once said: "The stranger is close to us insofar as we feel between him and ourselves similarities of nationality or social position, of occupation or of general human nature. He is far from us insofar as these similarities extend beyond him and us, and connect us only because they connect a great many people."

What Simmel is describing is that being a stranger is actually a form of a social relationship. A stranger helps to connect a group of people who see the stranger as not fitting into their group, while also reminding the stranger that they stand outside of the group.

For this extra credit assignment, find or create an image of being a social other with which you identify. Upload the image as an image file (.jpg, .png, .giff). If you create an image through drawing or some other format that is not easily an image, then take a picture of it. Or you may find an image existing on the Internet. To receive the full points for this assignment, the visual must obviously represent social "othering," by displaying a person or persons who are perhaps viewed to be "strangers" in the Simmelian sense described here.

Any one have any idea about this question?

Answer 1

This is about various social contexts, which in which either we are strangers or we consider others to be strangers, yet, we interact and make social contact.

Example: How we view ourselves, when we enter into a situation, in which we find ourselves as strangers because we are singled out on gender basis. Imagine a situation where a woman enter into a field that is completely dominated by men or vice-versa.

A situation in which a salesperson makes social interactions and contacts with complete strangers, where both the potential consumers and the salesperson are complete strangers to each other,yet they make social connections and interact with each other.

A situation, the place that one has born and brought up which is completely different from that place and environment to which the individual actually belongs.

First day of a new school or college of which one had no idea.

A situation in which differently abled people are looked as "others"

A situation in which old people among the young are acknowledged as "others". How we view them.

These are few situations from everyday life, where we are others in the group or the vice-versa. Provide your situation of "othering' with a pic, image or drawing, and a description in few sentences.