In Norbert Elias?s hands, a local community study of tense relations between an established group and outsiders becomes a microcosm that illuminates a wide range of sociological configurations including racial, ethnic, class and gender relations. The Established and the Outsiders examines the mechanisms of stigmatization, taboo and gossip, monopolization of power, collective fantasy and `we? and `they? images which support and reinforce divisions in society. Developing aspects of Elias?s thinking that relate his work to current sociological concerns, it presents the

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