The diffusion of the threshold: fringes, hegemonies and contradictions

Abstract

One of the principal analytical tools of 20th century social anthropology was the concept of marginality. In this essay, the author conceives of the game between centrality and marginality in terms of the workings of hegemonies, seeking to grant a contemporary relevance to the concepts of marginality and threshold. Social and cultural life is made up of both daily and nightly aspects, the former legitimised through the operation of symbolic power, and the latter existing in the shadows of marginality. The notions of contradiction and strategy are viewed through this perspective.