Abstracts
Abstract
This paper brings together two of the key theoretical concepts attributed to Georg Simmel – the notion of the ‘stranger’ (the person who is not indigenous to a social context and perpetually seen as possibly not belonging) and ‘love’ as socially constructed which has the potential to turn an individual love into a notion of ‘super individual couplehood’ unifying two individuals and transforming them in the process. Based on in-depth qualitative interviews with 35 people in ‘mixed’ couples, this paper examines how loving the stranger is constructed, maintained and challenged across cultures, languages, races, and nationalities.
Appendices
Bibliography
- Antonsich, M. (2010). “Searching for belonging – an Analytical Framework”, in: Geography Compass, 6(4), pp. 644-659.
- Aubert, V. (1965). The Hidden Society. Totowa, NJ: The Bedminster Press.
- Bauman, Z. (2003). Liquid Love: On the Frailty of Human Bonds. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley and Sons.
- Beck U., Beck-Gernsheim E. (2014) “The Global Chaos of Love: Towards a Cosmopolitan Turn in the Sociology of Love and Families”, in: Beck U. (Eds.) Ulrich Beck. SpringerBriefs on Pioneers in Science and Practice, 18, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-04990-8_12
- Central Statistics Office. (2017). “2016 Census Summary Results – Part 1”. https://www.cso.ie/en/media/csoie/newsevents/documents/census2016summaryresultspart1/Presentation_Census_Summary_Results_Part_1.pdf
- Charsley, K. (2012). Transnational Marriage: Europe and Beyond. London: Routledge.
- Conradsen, I.M. and Kronborg, A. (2007). “Changing matrimonial law in the image of immigration law”, in: L. Passerini et al., (Eds.) Women migrants from East to West. Gender, mobility and belonging in contemporary Europe. New York: Berghahn Books, pp. 228–242.
- Constable, N. (2005). “A tale of two marriages: international matchmaking and gendered mobility”, in: N. Constable, (Ed.) Cross-border marriages. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, pp.166–186.
- Cottrell, A.B., (1990). “Cross-national marriages: a review of the literature”, in: Journal of comparative family studies, (21), pp. 151–169.
- Crippen, C.L. (2011). Working with intercultural couples and families: exploring cultural dissonance to identify transformative opportunities. American Counseling Association. http://counselingoutfitters.com/vistas/vistas11/Article_21.pdf
- Djurdjevic, M. & Girona, J.R. (2016) “Mixed Couples and Critical Cosmopolitanism: Experiences of Cross-border Love”, in: Journal of Intercultural Studies, 37(4), pp. 390 -405, DOI: 10.1080/07256868.2016.1190695
- Eggebø, H. (2013). A real marriage? Applying for marriage migration to Norway, in: Journal of ethnic and migration studies, 39 (5), pp. 773–789. doi: 10.1080/1369183X.2013.756678
- Flam, Helena. (2009). “Extreme Feelings and Feelings at the Extremes”, in: Hopkins, D. et.al. (Eds.) 2009. Theorizing Emotions: Sociological Explorations and Applications. Frankfurt, Germany: Campus Verlag.
- Felmlee, D. et.al. (2007). “Love”, in: Stets, J. and Turner, J. Handbook of Sociology of Emotion. New York, NY: Springer, pp. 389-409.
- Fisher, H. (2016). Anatomy of Love: A natural history of mating, marriage and why we stay. NY: WW Norton.
- Giddens, A. (1992). The Transformation of Intimacy: Sexuality, Love and Eroticism in Modern Societies. Cambridge, UK: Polity Press.
- Hochschild, A.R. (1979). “Emotion Work, Feeling Rules, and Social Structure”, in: The American Journal of Sociology, 85(3), pp. 551-575.
- Illouz, E. (2013). Why Love Hurts: A Sociological Explanation. London: Polity Press.
- Jackson, S. (1993). “Even Sociologists Fall in Love: An Exploration in the Sociology of Emotions”, in: Sociology 27, pp. 201-220.
- Jamieson, L. (1999) “Intimacy Transformed? A Critical Look at the `Pure Relationship’’’, in: Sociology, 33(3), pp. 477–494. doi: 10.1177/S0038038599000310.
- Jankowiak, W. R. (2008). Intimacies: Love and Sex Across Cultures. NY: Columbia University Press.
- Karis, T. A., & Killian, K. D. (Eds.) (2009). Intercultural couples: exploring diversity in intimate relationships. New York: Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.
- King-O’Riain, R.C. (2019). “How the Irish Became More Than White: Mixed-Race Irishness in Historical and Contemporary Contexts”, in: Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, 47(4), pp.821-837.
- King-O’Riain, R.C. (2018). “What’s Love Got To Do With It? Emotional Authority and State Regulation of Interracial/national Couples in Ireland” in: Intercultural Studies. 39(4), pp. 494-500. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/07256868.2018.1484344
- Lavanchy, A. (2012). “Love at the registry office. An anthropological view on intimacy institutions.” https://www.unine.ch/files/live/sites/maps-chaire/files/shared/documents/projets/SciencePart_Lavanchy.pdf
- Levine, D. N. (1971). Georg Simmel: On Individuality and Social Forms. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.
- Lindholm, C. (1998). “Love and Structure”, in: Theory, Culture & Society, 15(3–4), pp. 243–263. https://doi.org/10.1177/0263276498015003011
- Lindholm, C. (2006). “Romantic Love and Anthropology”, in: Etnofoor, 19(1), pp. 5–21. http://www.jstor.org/stable/25758107
- Livingstone, G and Brown, A. (2017). “Intermarriage in the US 50 Years After Loving V. Virginia”, in: Pew Research Center, May 18, 2017 https://www.pewresearch.org/socialtrends/2017/05/18/1-trends-and-patterns-in-intermarriage/
- Luhmann, N. (1987). Love as Passion: The Codification of Intimacy. Translated by Jeremy Gaines and Doris L. Jones. Boston, MA: Harvard University Press.
- Lunn, P. and Fahey, T. (2011). “Households and Family Structures in Ireland: A detailed statistical analysis of Census 2006.” Dublin, Ireland: Economic and Social Research Institute. https://www.esri.ie/news/households-and-family-structures-in-ireland
- May, Vanessa. (2011). “Self, Belonging and Social Change,” in: Sociology 45, pp. 363-378.
- Marotta, V. (2010). “The cosmopolitan stranger”, in: S. Van Hooft and W. Vandekerckhove, (Eds.) Questioning cosmopolita- nism. New York: Springer, pp. 105–120.
- O’Malley, P. (2020). “The Mixed Race Irish Family and Everyday Negotiations of Citizenship”, in: Ethnicities, 21(5), pp. 934-952.
- Roder, A., Ward, M., Frese, C. and Sanchez, E. (2014). New Irish Families: A Profile of Second Generation Children and their Families. Dublin: Trinity College Dublin.
- Rodríguez-García, D. (2006) “Mixed Marriages and Transnational Families in the Intercultural Context: A Case Study of African–Spanish Couples in Catalonia”, in: Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, 32(3), pp. 403-433, DOI: 10.1080/13691830600555186
- Romano, D. (2008). Intercultural marriage: promises and pitfalls. Yarmouth, ME: Intercultural Press.
- Seebach, S. and Nunez-Mosteo, F. (2016). “Is Romantic Love a Linking Emotion?”, in: Sociological Research Online, 21(1), pp. 176-187. https://doi-org.jproxy.nuim.ie/10.5153/sro.3828
- Simmel, G. (1984). Georg Simmel: On Women, Sexuality and Love. Oakes, G. (Ed.). New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.
- Swidler, A. (2001). Talk of Love: How Culture Matters. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.
- Takaki, R. (1998). Strangers From a Different Shore. New York: Time Warner Trade Publishing.
- Tuan, M. (1999). Forever Foreigners or Honorary Whites?: The Asian Ethnic Experience Today. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press.
- Wolff, K. H. (1950). The Sociology of Georg Simmel. New York: The Free Press.