Identities exist in every social sphere of our society; they vary according to sex, race, nationality, race or ethnicity, and are formed through relations of individuals and groups in different places. However, there are tensions within these, thus reinforcing or challenging inequalities. They are also a subject of a changing social context, and their inclusiveness and exclusiveness contribute to a making of society. This essay will look at places where social interactions happen, and relate them to identities of people. It will examine how inclusion and exclusion work, and what role do identities have within social structures that connect or disconnect individuals. It will also be discussed that inclusion and exclusion in the city and the countryside are more than local, and can extend to other aspects of social life. Finally, the text will show that identities of a street and a neighbourhood must negotiate inclusion and exclusion within a neighbourhood identity. Hence, it will be concluded that connected lives are a subject of established identities and their meaning in places they exist. Exclusion and Inclusion Firstly, inclusion and exclusion of different communities happens in specific locations, where identities are viewed as either marked or unmarked. A marked identity signifies something unfamiliar, and thus abnormal, connected to a particular place and history. These identities can be determined by race, ethnicity, class, family, education, or an idea of 'us' and 'them'. Hence, typically, the Western identity is unmarked and normal, whereas other identities from other places are viewed as strangers with strange habits, conventions and social structures (Taylor, 2009). Moreover, everyday practices also propagate certai... ... middle of paper ... ...09). Introducing the Social Sciences. Making Social Lives. Milton Keynes: The Open University. Hinchliffe, S. (2009). Connecting People and Places. In: Taylor, S., Hinchliffe, S.,Clarke, J. and Bromley, S. (eds.) (2009). Introducing the Social Sciences. Making Social Lives. Milton Keynes: The Open University. Massey, D. (2005). For Space. London: Sage. Ridge, M. (2006). A Question of Ethnics. The Spectator , 21st January. Availble through: [Accessed 24th April 2014]. Taylor, S. (2009). Who Do We Think We Are? Identities in Everyday Life. In: Taylor, S., Hinchliffe, S.,Clarke, J. and Bromley, S. (eds.) (2009). Introducing the Social Sciences. Making Social Lives. Milton Keynes: The Open University. Willmott, P. (1986). Social Networks, Informal Care and Public Policy. London: Policy Studies Institute.
Silva, E.B. (2009) ‘making social order’ in Taylor, S., Hinchliffe, S., Clarke, J. and Bromley, S. (eds), Making Social Lives, Milton Keynes, The Open University.
Kourvetaris, A. G. (2009). Perspectives on ethnicity, gender and race and their empirical referents: a four-sided paradigm and critical review. International Review Of Sociology, 19(1), 127-146. doi:10.1080/03906700802613988
276). Curtin’s Coculturation (2010) combats this hegemonic discourse by stating, “everyone is continually engaged in social and political processes of identification” (p. 283). Thus, one’s identity can consist of multiple cultures and they can in fact coincide. The idea that one group “belongs” in a particular imagined community is a myth, there is no single response or adaption. The theory of Coculturation ultimately accommodates to a more realistic approach to cultural adjustment where a newcomer can adopt some behavior of the host culture while still maintaining the conciliatory and subconscious aspects of their native
“A human being’s sense of self is established in the context of their ethics and morals. The concept of identity is related to ‘who I am’. Individuals situate themselves in a contextual environment that may include their relationships with family and friends, and their abilities and the occupations in which they are, or have been. This identifies what is ultimately important to an individual and how that relates to where their identity is in relation to this.” (Thomas, 2013)
In conclusion, this essay has outlined an example range of ‘making and remaking’ on City Road in relation to ‘connections and disconnections’. It outlined how differences and inequalities are produced, how a person’s identity is attributed to them by other people and it is not always chosen and finally, the relationship between; society, making and remaking and connection and disconnection.
Wright Mills suggests the social identity of a person must be considered as a compilation of their individual and collective identities. Leaning on theories by Erving Goffman and Anthony Giddens, Jenkins (2004) suggests that the human world can be understood as three distinct ‘orders’: the individual order which is concerned with the self; the interaction order which is concerned with relationships; and the institutional order which denotes the human world of pattern and organisation. Thus identity can be explained as a person’s conception and expression of themselves as an individual as well as their perception of wider identities such as ethnicity, religion, nationality, social class, sexuality etc. In this way, identity is both characteristic of the individual but also to the culturally identical group that has its members sharing the same cultural identity. By assigning ourselves to various social identities, it is theorised that this is the very basis of prejudice and hate crime. This identification leads people to view their social group as superior to other social groups, and since all groups form and develop in the same way conflict can emerge out of the resulting clash of social perceptions (Tajfel cited in Hall, 2013). In this way we can begin to understand how some identities become targets of hate
...d.). "A" Level Sociology, Teaching Notes for Students. Culture and Identity, 6. Sources of Identity. World Wide Web: http://freespace.virgin.net/chris.livesey/cculture.htm [2002, July, 24].
Silva, E. B. (2009). Chapter 7. Making Social Order. In: Taylor, S., Hinchliffe, S.,Clarke, J. and Bromley, S. (eds.) (2009). Introducing the Social Sciences. Making Social Lives. Milton Keynes: The Open University.
Tony Hiss Author of The Experience of Place brings to our attention that as humans “We react, consciously or unconsciously, to the places where we live and work, in ways we scarcely notice or that are only now becoming known to us…In short, the places where we spend our time affect the people we are and can become.” Place defines characteristics in both human and extended moral communities. Place is not necessarily specific to gender, race, generation or specie. This understanding and recognition of place is fundamental when thinking about institutionalizing ecological and social responsibility.
Identity is one of the main questions throughout all of our readings, because it is hard for people to accept who they are in society. Accepting their identity as a minority with little if any freedoms sparks many of the social problems which I will show happening in all communities and cultures. The main issue we will discuss is how social environments effect the search for identity. The Mexicans in the U.S. module gives us examples how Mexicans try to keep their customs while living in a discriminated environment by the Whites. This module also gives us examples how people are searching for personal identity while struggling with cultural traditions. Finally, the African-American module gives us more examples to compare with the Mexicans in the U.S. module, because these readings deal with Blacks finding personal identity also through discrimination from the Whites. To properly understand the theme of identity, we must first look the factors influencing it.
Identity. This simple world fulfills the answers to multitudes of questions: Who are you? Where do you come from? How do you appear? When were you born? Where will life take you? While some believe we answer these questions for ourselves, many scholars and experts in the field of media and cultural studies beg to differ. Conformity has become a social norm, and many people are no longer inclined to search for their own identity in the world. People allow the world and its inhabitants to identify them. Just as media and marketing have begun putting labels on everything people wear, digest, and observe, people too have become subject to labeling. These labels lead individuals to become ‘one dimensional’. In the words of Robinson (2010), this one dimensionality is due to the fact that the vast majority of human beings allow consumer culture and public opinion to dominate over their individuality. Evolving ideologies, alienating binary oppositions, and the question of identity are intertwined with media, culture and society in the lives of every being, be it implicitly or
The question ‘who am I?’ raises speculations about who we are as human beings and why we behave the way we do. This is of great interest to social psychologists. One particular theory about this social identity is that it is not fixed or innate but that it is something that changes over time and is constructed through our social interactions with other people. This essay will explicate the idea of socially constructed identities and consider the evidence for and against this view with examples of research studies from both social constructionism (Phoenix, 2007) and Social Identity Theory (SIT) (Turner and Brown, 1978).
While much of the contemporary debate over identity is based on the problem of identity over time, there remains to be resolved the issue of what even constitutes identity and how that manifests itself in every individual. For this problem, it is necessary to consider how individual philosophers conceptualize identity, and one fruitful example is the concept of relational identity. In this concept, the individual identity is considered in how it relates to other individuals and the rest of their environment, so while several Francophone philosophers consider in depth the interpersonal connections and cultural phenomena that create relational identity, the issue of environment remains. Edouard Glissant and Barbara Cassin are two such philosophers
Nevertheless, it is important to remember that language is a significant component of ethnicity. However, as any other (component of ethnicity), “it can be perceived and dealt with differently in analysis and classification” (Jenkins): for many ethnic minority groups language proved to be a cornerstone of their vitality, but for such countries as Canada it is rather an optional characteristic in formulating modern ethnicity.
Everyone is a part of a community. Most people are a part of multiple communities. A community is a group of people that have a commonality. Sometimes it is based on where you live, hobbies, goals, etc. I believe that communities are created unconsciously and are connected to someone’s identity, especially when a person is considered a part of multiple communities. Sometimes, a person may connect very well with their community. Sometimes, a person may feel very distant from their community. In the movie, “English Vinglish”, the main character, Sashi, shows examples on how communities are created through commonalities, and the acculturation theory. Sashi was a part of multiple communities. A few communities included her, her Daughter’s school,