Interplay between representing 'others' and experiencing peripherality: ethnographic study in a Swiss valley

This article explores how the lived and situated peripherality of Val-de-Travers, a Swiss valley located on the border with France, articulates with experiences and representations of difference. It ethnographically investigates how the presence of people assigned to different social categorizations of difference - in this case, refugees, cross-border workers, and cas sociaux-intersects with place-based representations and experiences of other long-term residents. In doing so, this article contributes to a more comprehensive understanding of the complex interplay between the micro-processes of categorizing and representing 'others' and the macro-hierarchies of place.