Stranger to you and Stranger to Myself? Theorizing Self-Estrangement

Bibliographic Data

ID20034414
AuthorsNatalia Ruiz-Junco (0000-0002-3331-5688, corresponding author)
Year2011
Pages147-168
Publication date2011-10-12
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeCHAPTER
VenueThe Diversity of social theories (SOURCE_BOOK)
PublisherEmerald Group Publishing Limited (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1108/s0278-1204(2011)0000029012
OpenAlexW2481085347
ISBN9780857248213
LanguageEN
Citations received2
References cited24

As a major concept in sociological theory, estrangement can be understood through a diversity of theoretical lenses. However, there is a tendency among sociologists to identify the idea of estrangement with a version of alienation. In this chapter, I counter this tendency to reduce estrangement to one of its conceptual possibilities. To provide a theoretical analysis of estrangement, I first examine the classical views of the issue. I argue that classical theories – both critical and interpretive – fail to theorize sufficiently self-estrangement, a dimension of the concept that remains underexplored. Thus, I move beyond classical sociology to reconstruct the idea of self-estrangement, drawing on more recent interpretive and critical theories, especially theories of social interaction and the self. Specifically, I discuss several interactional forms of self-estrangement, and the connection between self-estrangement, institutional contexts, emotions and the body. Finally, I consider this concept in the context of civil society. This discussion demonstrates the merits of a focus on self-estrangement applied to the study of political exclusion

Alienation · Epistemology · Political science · Politics · Self · Sociology · Contemporary Sociological Theory and Practice · Philosophy · Social and Cultural Dynamics · Weber, Simmel, Sociological Theory

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