The established and the outsiders : aspects of inclusion and exclusion

In English In current debate a number of terms are used to describe the positions
of different groups and individuals, eg. deviation, marginalisation,
segregation, integration, inclusion and exclusion. The terminology
aids us in giving everyday life a manageable structure and meaning,
but it also work as a tool of stigma and to keep large groups outside
society, not least in research agendas. By using the terminology as
structuring devices and analytical categories to describe and understand
processes of exclusion do we add, although not purposely, to the
formulation of the boundaries of exclusion.
To understand these processes it is necessary to begin within us.
By viewing our own position and behaviour it will soon be obvious
that it is about Us and Them. Norbert Elias and John L Scotson have
in a very illustrative way described how it works in their study -
Established and Outsiders (1965).