Abstract

AbstractThis essay sets a context that helps clarify the relationship of the dominant culture to the social problem of homelessness. In creating a monolithic conception of homelessness and in reducing the problem solely to matters of housing, contemporary perceptions have worked to fragment the whole social environment in which homelessness is an irreducible part. By subjecting such historically derived positions to a carefully considered cultural and symbolic analysis, the essay reveals the enduring cultural meaning and social significance of homelessness over the past century, offering a special focus on the mystifications of the social problem evident in our present historical moment.