The concept of identity is a very wide and subjective area. Identities can both be chosen and given, and are sources of disconnection and connection. Identities are not solely applied to people, but to places too. A places identity can both positively and negatively affect peoples identities. My essay will examine the argument that places can be a source of inclusion and exclusion for specific communities, how identities are constructed and linked to other places and identities are marked and unmarked through othering and also how a persons identity can be impacted upon by place identity and how both imagined and idealised past of a place can impact on people feeling out of place, or even part of, and how a place’s identity can be linked to a racial or ethnic identity. Social identities are multiple, they may even overlap and can be linked to differences and similarities of others. Sociologists such as Erving Goffman or Harold Garfinkel consider that identities are socially constructed. In general identities are understood as ‘what people do’, rather than ‘what they are’, the given example of a person in the street looking in shop windows carrying bags, buying things, would be seen as a shopper (Taylor 2009 pg173) illustrates this. In everyday life people’s identities are part of social lives, in a two way relationship. We make society as much as it makes us, this helps to create as well as maintains social order. Identities can be both negatively and positively valued, and they are not always chosen, they can be given also. Homeless people for example have been labelled with a negative identity of ‘street people’, this was given to them by ourselves, which are considered to have a much more positive identity. This t... ... middle of paper ... ...mmission for racial equality that there was a ‘passive apartheid’ in the countryside, and that pursuits there were targeted at white middle-class, middle-aged people, and minority groups were not ‘comfortable’ and it was not a ‘welcome place for them. To conclude, the identity that is then attached to a place will impact upon people’s disconnections and connections. Social identities, which are linked to places as well as other identities, and a person’s own ethnic identity has a direct impact on the inclusions and exclusions of people as it creates negatively and positively, both unmarked and marked identities. The idealised and imagined past of places influences people’s identities, and can make people feel welcomed and out of place. Locations will affect our individual identity and so determines how we are excluded or even included from parts of our society.
Personal identity is an important idea that permeates through life by influencing ideas, determining actions, and in some cases preceding the physical self. Personal identity influences choices in daily life, while also containing identity data that is important to those one will interact with, allowing others to make choices based upon that information. While the additional information contained within the impacts of an identity isn’t personal identity by itself, it is surely part of how personal identity is defined. In his essay “The Unimportance of Identity”, Derek Parfit argues that it is not personal identity that is important when considering the future, but survival. The intention of this writing is to outline the arguments from Parfit’s essay, and reveal that Derek Parfit’s definition and idea of personal identity in “The Unimportance of Identity” are incomplete. By completely defining personal identity, the soundness of the arguments presented in his writing will be disrupted and personal identity will be seen as a worthwhile consideration for the continuation of a person.
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).
To build a house, we need a strong base. With a strong base, we would be able to have a better foundation for the house, so it depended on us to choose what kind of base we want to use to build our house. Just like a house, an identity for an individual, is about making a decision, and that decision will shape their identity. A couple years ago, it never crossed in my mind, that one day I would live someplace away from home, family, and friends. I thought I had everything in life, and it made me never grateful with what I had. But then, I made a decision to move to United States, and since I moved to United States, I became a responsible and a grateful person.
Belonging is a fluid concept that adapts and shifts within a person’s lifetime. It is subjective and can encourage feelings of security, happiness and acceptance or conversely alienation and dislocation. One's perception of belonging, and therefore identity, is significantly influenced by place and relationships established within one's environment. This is evident in Steven Herrick's free verse novel “The Simple Gift” and the short story “The River that wasn’t ours” by Ashley Reynolds.
Belonging is described as being a member of a particular group or organisation. The feeling of belonging to a country, nation and a community can influences a person’s sense of identity and how they participate in society, especially for people such as migrants. This issue is highlighted in the novel looking for Alibrandi.
Adrienne Rich once wrote an open letter titled “Politics of Location” that profoundly opened my eyes to a relevantly obvious concept of self-identity. More often than not, one fails to see the truth that sits right before his or her own eyes. However, it is still the responsibility of the individual to be accountable for that truth. The concept of politics of location is simply that one’s life experiences affects one’s perspective. Unintentionally, individuals make themselves the center of reality. When, in actuality, one is only the center of his or her own reality. Rich also goes on to explain that people are different; yet, individuals have an uncanny since of imagined community. That being, the feeling that
This paper aims to endorse physicalism over dualism by means of Smart’s concept of identity theory. Smart’s article Sensations and the Brain provides a strong argument for identity theory and accounts for many of it primary objections. Here I plan to first discuss the main arguments for physicalism over dualism, then more specific arguments for identity theory, and finish with further criticisms of identity theory.
...nclusion, the identity of bi-lingual, bi-cultural students is always in the process of continuous renegotiation. Identity formation for mobile students turns into a life-long task, never complete; at no moment of their life is their identity final. The varied answers given by respondents to questions asking about where they belonged suggest that ‘home’ is a shifting concept in a life of constant mobility. Those students who had moved only once or who had returned consistently to their base location found it relatively easy to describe ‘home’. As the number of moves mounted up, however, so it became more difficult to decide which place claimed their primary allegiance. Cultural identity is fluid and contingent in relation to historical and cultural circumstances. David Miliband, former British politician once said ‘History is information. Memory forms your identity.’
The texts mentioned in this essay have clearly shown that the urban environment can shape a person’s identity. Some individuals might put it down to their own self-being but as proven by the texts above, its possible that a person’s surroundings have made an impact on their identity.
Sense of place is the “development of level of comfort and feelings of safety that are associated with a place” (Kopec, p. 62). These associations often translate into that desired sense of belonging, and allow individuals the ability to “develop feelings of attachment to particular settings based on combinations of use, attractiveness, and emotion” (Stokowski, 2002). Developing these psychological connections with certain places lends itself to the concept of place attachment, or, “a person’s bond with the social and physical environments of a place” (Kopec, p. 62). These places often hold deep meaning for people because their identities were established among their surroundings. This affiliation between a person and their place is often seen through personal connection, comfort, and security (Kopec, p. 131). Many people feel as though the place they are in should have its own “special character”, or an identity that defines it, and distinguishes it from other places (Kopec, p.1). Kopec states, “An environment’s distinct spatial features, how it compares with others, its connections to personal life paths, and its potential for change combine to affect the meanings places have for people”. An establishment of this sense of place identity ...
Identity is a state of mind in which someone recognizes/identifies their character traits that leads to finding out who they are and what they do and not that of someone else. In other words it's basically who you are and what you define yourself as being. The theme of identity is often expressed in books/novels or basically any other piece of literature so that the reader can intrigue themselves and relate to the characters and their emotions. It's useful in helping readers understand that a person's state of mind is full of arduous thoughts about who they are and what they want to be. People can try to modify their identity as much as they want but that can never change. The theme of identity is a very strenuous topic to understand but yet very interesting if understood. How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents by Julia Alvarez and Farewell to Manzanar by Jeanne Wakatsuki are two remarkable books that depict the identity theme. They both have to deal with people that have an identity that they've tried to alter in order to become more at ease in the society they belong to. The families in these books are from a certain country from which they're forced to immigrate into the United States due to certain circumstances. This causes young people in the family trauma and they must try to sometimes change in order to maintain a comfortable life. Both authors: Alvarez and Houston have written their novels Is such an exemplifying matter that identity can be clearly depicted within characters as a way in adjusting to their new lives.
There are millions of words across the globe that are used to describe people and uncover their identity, but what is identity? How can you begin to describe something that varies so greatly from one human being to another? Can you create a universal meaning for a word describing human concepts that people often fail to define for themselves? Of course there isn't one definition to define such a word. It is an intricate aspect of human nature, and it has a definition just as complex.
The fifth stage, according to Erik Erikson psychoanalytic theory of development is the Identity Vs Identity confusion. The stage occurs during adolescence in the ages between 12 to 18 years. At this stage, the adolescents try to find a sense of personal and self-identity by intensely exploring their personal goals, beliefs, and values (McLeod, 2017). Notably, the adolescence is between childhood and adulthood. Thus, their mind is between the morality learned during childhood and the ethics they are trying to develop into adulthood. The transitioning from childhood to adulthood is the most important development for a person because the individual is becoming independent and is focusing on the future regarding career, relationships, families
Salazar, J.M., 1998, ‘Social identity and national identity’, in Worchel, S., Morales, J.F., Páez, D., Deschamps, J.-C. (Eds.), Social Identity, International Perspectives. Sage, London.
People tend to assume that they will be safe in their surroundings because of who they are or how they look. In “Identities” the protagonist believes that he will be safe even in a different town because of the way he looks.