The idea of Europe is constitutively built on creating outsiders who fail to belong

Evidence

The first two papers focus on the relationship between “Europe and its Others.” Jan Nederveen Pieterse’s exploration of this theme provides insight into the ways in which the “idea of Europe” is predicated constitutively on processes that have created the “other,” those who fail to belong, both within and outside Europe. Focusing on the ways in which markers of “difference” became a mechanism for the development of images of religious, cultural, and racial difference, Pieterse’s account serves to remind us of the complex role of internal and external “boundaries” in shaping modern-day ideas about European cultures and societies. — David Theo Goldberg, John Solomos, A Companion to Racial and Ethnic Studies, 167

Categorization

• XREF: Connects to readings on Orientalism and Edward Said; also relevant to the ‘Complaints About Immodesty’ article’s themes of boundary-drawing through cultural markers.