Summary
Contents
Studies is an important, interdisciplinary thread which runs through contemporary debates on globalization, citizenship, community studies, political geography and identity. It has always represented a significant component of ethnic, multicultural and racial studies but the last few years have seen a steady increase in separate / autonomous courses and modules as students, lecturers and researchers engage with the field. This proposal looks to pull together the central themes of the field; its approach is logical and the three main themes the authors identify are a useful hook upon which to hang the text. International relevance and marketability is obviously important; the inclusion of a US and a UK author with such sympathetic expertise will help to maximise the appeal of the project. The authors are aware of the need to balance the needs of different markets and their willingness to develop the proposal in response to the reviewers' comments is encouraging.
Alien/Foreigner
Alien/Foreigner
Definition: The terms alien and foreigner refer to a person who is a member of some other society, a non-citizen, someone who is a stranger or outsider, e.g. by virtue of having been born in another country.
Referring to an immigrant as a foreigner or alien implies (in the case of alien, quite strongly) that that person is not in fact a member of their new society. Foreignness is not an inherent quality of a person; instead it is a relation, defined by particular contexts: I am only a foreigner there, not here (Saunders 2003). The concepts thus lead us to consider the basis for membership and belonging: who belongs, who does not belong, and how do we reach such determinations? Given that national ...
