ABSTRACT
Since the concept of ‘social distance’ developed by Georg Simmel has entered the lexicon of sociological science, two different perspectives began to take shape from the way they were conceptualised: the geometric-structural perspective and the symbolic perspective. In this chapter, we intend to interconnect these two trends which are seldom articulated with each other. In addition, this approach intends to retrace Simmel’s thought, while taking a step further by articulating current challenges posed by multiculturalism with the advantages of structural analysis, drawing on a theme that is dear to the Simmelian reflection: to test “the general concept of sociation by its conditions”. In this sense, this pursuit tries to identify and locate the most significant traits of the different types of interaction in perceptions determined by otherness. As part of a survey in the school environment about the unbiased way to integrate Roma students, who are the most vulnerable to white flight, non-Roma students from three public secondary schools in Greater Lisbon were surveyed. In this way, this study seeks to contribute to making known the exemplary ways of managing otherness, and also to map them, from the perspective of the students.
