Roots of Identity

Roots of Identity

• 1.
  Identity Involves similarityand difference- A Homogenizing factor? Identity must be “identified” -it is not just “there” Must identity always be established? Also: -to classify things or persons -to associate oneself with, or attach oneself to something or someone else. Roots: Identitas Idem= the same Oxford English Dictionary: -The sameness of objects- as A1 is identical to A2 but not to B1. -consistency or continuity over time that is the basis for establishing and grasping the definitiveness and distinctiveness of something.
• 2.
  Personal, Social, CollectiveIdentities Personal: - “Self ”- constructed by individual but molded by experience. Social: -developed through interaction-identify with others & are identified by them. -much more complex due to individualization and globalization. Collective: -mixes group identification & categorization -internal-external dialectic- defined by power
• 3.
  Individual order: -embodiedindividuals & what-goes-on in their head. Interaction order: - relationships between individuals & what- goes-on between people Institutional order: -organizational and established way of doing things.
• 4.
  Objectivist: Based onclassic problem of nature/ nurture Is identity more influenced by nature or learnt behavior (i.e. culture)?? Subjectivist: Identity is merely a feeling of belonging, a sense of being part of a community. Identity here is ephemeral or short-lived Objectivist vs. Subjectivist
• 5.
  R Identity principallya part of social and historical factors. Created by people`s actions and in comparison to other identities. Identification & Differentiation Identity is “Socially constructed” Relational / Interactionist approach
• 6.
  Social reality ismore complex than simple categorizations. Contemporary society undergoing dramatic social change-identities adopted through media or consumption. Identities changing dramatically- cultural markers are fragmenting Postmodernist approach
• 7.
  Categorical Labels Gender Age Class Language Ethnicity / Race Nationality Religion In what ways do these shape identity? Do they hold the same importance as before?
• 8.
  Culture --Structuralists— “a way of life” within society based on norms and values which bind society together. --Interpretivist-- shared meaning and symbols which people use to convey meaning. Zygmunt Bauman: Culture is artificial -Garden metaphor-
• 9.
  Political Identity TwoDistinctions: I. Political Action & Institutions contribute to individual political identity II. Process of identification provides the ground for political allegiance in a political commmunity
• 10.
  Ethnicity and NationalismDistinctions-- Ethnicity less focused on cultural differences – but needs: – Myth of common descent – A shared history and sense of solidarity – Association with a territory Nationalism -distinctive species of patriotism -uses ethnic difference as a political principle Origins of Nations---
• 11.
  Debate on NationsNationalists/ Modernists: Ben & Susan Postmodernists/ Political Mythologies: Brittni & Rachel Perennialists/ Primordialists: Alex & John