Chaos in the Contact Zone

Cultural encounters are often stylized not only as experiences of uncontrollability and unpredictability par excellence but also as challenges to planning and predicting. The history, different forms, and consequences of this phenomenon are the main issues discussed in this volume. The contributions show that chaos and control are not mutually exclusive in the "contact zone" (Mary Louise Pratt); on the contrary, they stand in relation to each other--be it as a competence or as an interpretive scheme.