The stranger as seer or voyeur: A dilemma of the peep-show theory of knowledge |
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Authors: | Sue Curry Jansen |
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Institution: | (1) Department of Sociology, State University of New York at Buffalo, USA |
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Abstract: | The belief that ‘the stranger’ (outsider, disinterested third party) sees things more clearly, i.e. is more “objective,” is
seen to be a corner-stone of folk wisdom; underlying Western judicial thought and concepts of objectivity in the social sciences.
The author raises the dilemma that both positivistic and humanistic sociologists accept this belief—suggesting 1) that it
is a residue of positivism and a quest for certain knowledge, or 2) the possibility that ‘the stranger’ does gain deeper insight
into group life than members. The paper examines the concept of the stranger, considering the aura of charisma that seems
to have been attached to it in ordinary discourse as well as within the sociological dialogue. Two types of strangers are
described: outsiders and enemies within. Finally, an attempt is made to examine the testimony of prominant strangers as they
describe their marginal status and speculate on the ways that status has made them unusually perceptive observers of social
phenomena. |
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