The flow of migrants from south to north and east to west carries with it growing concerns about the economic integration, political incorporation, and social inclusion of newcomers and their children. But what happens when a group of people deliberately excludes themselves from mainstream society? How can social policies, human services, and communities best understand and respond to them?

In Out of Place, Luann Good Gingrich explores social inclusion and exclusion in relation to the approximately 60,000 Low German-speaking Mennonites who have migrated from traditionally self-sufficient and agrarian colonies in Latin America to rural areas of Canada. By examining the free-market principles that organize the human services industry the author exposes the inherent conflict that arises when this “market logic” is imposed on a group that does not embrace these ideals. The author’s innovative approach to social policy and human services which emphasizes the relationship between dominant and subordinate cultures, encourages us to find new ways to authentically engage with difference and bridge the gaps that divide us.

Luann Good Gingrich is an associate professor in the School of Social Work at York University.

Luann Good Gingrich's profile page

"With concepts from Bourdieu – habitus, social field, and capital – and her carefully crafted moves between the macro and micro, what [Good Gingrich] has accomplished in her book is nothing short of spectacular."

Journal of Amish and Plain Anabaptist Studies Vol 5:2

‘This book will appeal to a wide audiences including social policy scholars and anyone who engages with the processes and practices that organize social spaces and define social relations.’

Journal of Mennonite Studies vol 35:2017

‘An informative and innovative account of the concept of social exclusion, the policies of Canada’s social welfare system, and the logic of the market, as each relates to Mennonite migrants to southern Ontario from self-contained colonies in Mexico.’

The Mennonite Quarterly Review April 2017