Marginality and conflict in works of foreign and domestic researchers

The problem of marginalization has long existed in society. This concept is first found in the works of the thinkers of the 16th century, and denotes records in the margins of a text. At the beginning of the 20th century the concept of marginality replaced the then popular term "Hawaiian phenomenon", used to refer to the process of cultural assimilation of migrant workers with the local population of the Hawaiian Islands. This integration of national cultures led researchers to the understanding that an individual is trapped between two cultures, on the border of the old and new worlds, and acquires the status of a "marginal person". In its general meaning, the term "marginality" is used in the analysis of individuals and groups who are in the specific conditions of "detachment" from others within certain communities. In our opinion, marginality is: a kind of a dual state in which a person exists; a process of changing an established state of affairs in which changes will inevitably lead to consequences, not always pleasant for those who are in the center (in the zone of influence) of such changes; a harbinger of an imminent conflict with oneself and with the environment in a society prone to various types of disasters and unexpected changes. In this article the author presented existing concepts in the light of the classification of types of marginality proposed by J. Mancini. The author identified and characterized the reasons for the emergence of marginalized groups. In particular, these are the reasons favoring the disclosure of the essence of cultural marginality (the views of R. Park and E. Stonequist were integrated and analyzed), describing the specifics of structural marginalization (sociological approaches of E. Hughes and E. Tiryakian, socio-psychological approach of T. Shibutani, sociological approach of J. Mancini), indicating the presence of social marginal social roles (approaches of R. Merton and H. Dickie-Clark, J. Levy-Stringer, et al.). The author characterized marginality through the prism of social conflict, as well as the contribution to the study of Russian researchers. In their works, the discussion of marginality is connected with the history of marginality, views on it as a phenomenon, process or condition; with a shift of the emphasis in the study of marginality (focusing not so much on the phenomenon, but rather on the features of its manifestations under the influence of the changes taking place in society); with drawing attention to the topic of the construction of marginality as a consequence of the conflict of the individual with society; with the analysis of the relationship of marginality and identity (e.g., ethnicity) and identification of positive, negative and multiple marginal syncretic identity; with finding the causal relationships between the processes of marginalization and experiences of marginalized subjects, with their being in a constant state of intrapersonal conflict accompanied by apathy and depression, alienation and loneliness, indifference and suspicion, confusion and despair, etc.; with research of determination of marginality and sense of justice, legal behavior: identification of its subjects in the field of law as well as the causes, conditions and consequences of marginalization. The author also expresses her own position on the issue.

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