This book is about the making and unmaking of socio-cultural differences, seen from anthropological, sociological and philosophical perspectives. Some contributions are of a theoretical nature, such as when the 'problem of translation', 'the enigma of alienity' or 'queer theory' are addressed; other contributors throw light on contemporary issues like the integration of Muslims in Norway, identity-forming processes in 'Creole' societies or 'neo-traditionalist movements' and 'identity' in Africa. Moreover, the book deals with 'strangers' looked at from an 'anthropology of the night'. Special emphasis is placed on how globalization and the rapid spread of ever new technologies of information have generated ever new patterns of inclusion and exclusion, and how these can be theorized.

Richard Rottenburg (Prof. Dr.) holds a chair in Social and Cultural Anthropology at the University of Halle (Germany). He is the director of the LOST Research Group at the Max Planck Institute for Social Anthropology. Burkhard Schnepel is a Professor for Social Anthropology at the new Institute for Social Anthropology, Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg. His regional foci are on Africa (RR) and India/Indian Ocean (BS); his core topics include: 'Anthropology of Law, Organization, Science and Technology in Africa' (RR) and 'Cultures in Motion' (BS). Shingo Shimada (PhD) is professor of Modern Japanese Studies with a focus on social sciences at Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, Germany.