Examining the relationship between strangers, embodiment and community, Strange Encounters challenges the assumptions that the stranger is simply anybody we do not recognize and instead proposes that he or she is socially constructued as somebody we already know. Using feminist and postcolonial theory this book examines the impact of multiculturalism and globalization on embodiment and community whilst considering the ethical and political implication of its critique for post-colonial feminism. A diverse range of texts are analyzed which produce the figure of 'the stranger', showing that it has alternatively been expelled as the origin of danger - such as in neighbourhood watch, or celebrated as the origin of difference - as in multiculturalism. The author argues that both of these standpoints are problematic as they involve 'stranger fetishism'; they assume that the stranger 'has a life of its own'.

"The Way of the Strangers is an intimate journey into the minds of the Islamic State's true believers. From the streets of Cairo to the mosques of London, Wood interviews supporters, recruiters, and sympathizers of the group...Wood speaks with non-Islamic State Muslim scholars and jihadists, and explores the group's idiosyncratic, coherent approach to Islam...Through character study and analysis, Wood provides a clear-eyed look at a movement that has inspired so many people to abandon or uproot their families.

Connect to the world around you and realize the enormous potential in talking to strangers Everyday, random encounters really can change lives, when you make them happen the right way and leverage the connection at the other end. Talk to Strangers explains how to stand out and tap the potential of others by taking notice of who is standing alongside you on the bank line, the latte pickup point, or the ticket counter at the airport. David Topus' life-changing message is that we should "always connect," which means going beyond online relationships and engaging in the random, real-life interactions that have unlimited potential to supercharge businesses, accelerate careers, and enrich your life. Why there is opportunity through the people you meet wherever you go The four key beliefs of successful random connectors Techniques for creating comfort and trust quickly with complete strangers How to optimize and monetize your newly-established contacts When you connect to those in your everyday world, you'll discover the life-expanding potential of random encounters and unlimited opportunities.

In our global, multicultural world, how we understand and relate to those who are different from us has become central to the politics of immigration in western societies. Who we are and how we perceive ourselves is closely associated with those who are different and strange. This book explores the pivotal role played by ‘the stranger’ in social theory, examining the different conceptualisations of the stranger found in the social sciences and shedding light on the ways in which these discourses can contribute to an analysis of cross-cultural interaction and cultural hybridity. Engaging with the work of Simmel, Park and Bauman and arguing for the need for greater theoretical clarity, Theories of the Stranger connects conceptual questions with debates surrounding identity politics, multiculturalism, online ethnicities and cross-cultural dialogue. As such, this rigorous, conceptual re-examination of the stranger will appeal to scholars across the social sciences with interests in social theory and the theoretical foundations of discourses relating to migration, cosmopolitanism, globalisation and multiculturalism.

Encompassing scriptural, historical, folk, and newly commissioned tales, a collection exploring the centrality of the "stranger" in every major faith tradition—a commonality that could create a more compassionate worldEvery faith has, as a fundamental moment of its formation, the experience of exile, the experience of losing everything, or being thrown out, of being dispossessed, and of relying on the generosity, or not, of strangers. Furthermore, every major faith tradition has popular stories showing how you are more likely to meet the divine in the outcast, the reject, the beggar, than you are in the king, the prince, or indeed minister, priest, or nun. Faiths are therefore often the first to welcome and help refugees. Classic tales on this theme have been retold here from a contemporary perspective, with humor and wit. Sitting alongside powerful illustrations, the tales serve to remind readers of the centrality of the stranger in all traditions, thereby creating the potential for a more compassionate world. This collection is a resource for reflection, ideal for storytelling groups, for drama, art, and poetry, and a unique educational tool as well.

This volume seeks to identify and define the parameters of a relatively new problem area -- parental development. Drawing on the grand developmental theories of Sigmund Freud, Lawrence Kohlberg, Jean Piaget, Lev Vygotsky, Heinz Werner, and their descendants, this book has the potential to generate an area of common concern for those interested in either child/adolescent or adult development through the novel application of developmental principles and considerations to the ecological context of parenting. To that end, this volume brings together theory and research from the subfields of adult and child/adolescent development. Chapter authors place the problem area of parental development in theoretical context and examine selected psychological part-processes implicated by focusing on cognitive and psychosocial development. The authors then deal with a range of issues that are perhaps less traditional and/or more in line with the complex character of everyday life. That is, they utilize either relatively novel comparison groups or treat parents at later stages of development rather than those in young adulthood as is often the case. Finally, the authors uncover both similarities and differences among their theoretical perspectives with an eye toward delineating some possible future research directions.