ArReDia (Aug 2013)
The perception means of the otherness: an analysis of the concept of foreigner
Abstract
This article intends to unfold a theoretic contemplation, based, mainly, on Eric Landowski’s social semiotics, about the concept of foreigner and its relation to the different forms of articulation in the relationship between an Us and its Other. Dealing with the idea of foreigner, we will approach, as well, the identification processes which an individual, who considers himself part of a reference group (that is, an Us), from which the values and cultural configurations are considered by him as universal, builds for his dissimilar (for the Other, the foreigner). It is noticeable that, more than “a person from another country, who is originally from a different nation”, the concept of foreigner allows the development of a much more complex discussion, which involves a great variety of identity practices (and, therefore, discursive practices as well). The theme proposed in this paperwork has its relevance since the reflection centered on the concept of foreigner gives the possibility to questioning one of the many different segments of the identity. In view to discuss the proposed issues, this article will be based, mainly, on the theoretical work of authors such as Eric Landowski, Julien Algirdas Greimas and Diana Luz Pessoa de Barros.
