Collective Identities

2019 ◽  
pp. 416-420
Author(s):  
Anton Sterbling
Keyword(s):  
Collective Identity ◽  
Regional Identity ◽  
Functional Differentiation ◽  
Multiple Identities ◽  
Community Formation ◽  
Collective Identities ◽  
Self And Other ◽  
Political Exclusion ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Social Entities

Collective identity is an abstract category which encompasses narrowly definable concepts such as group identity, cultural identity, or regional identity, and historically specific types of community formation and sociation such as clans, tribes, peoples, nations, or ethnic minorities, including socio-structural concepts such as social status and class as well as political parties and movements. A definition of the term collective identities includes every process of community formation and sociation that leads to clearly definable social entities, although communicative processes of self- and other-identification and corresponding attitudes appear to be of constitutive importance. The transformation of collective identities is considered in view of the ‘three waves of democratization’, and the socio-structural processes of ‘political exclusion’, ‘socio-cultural closures’, and ‘meritocratic-functional differentiation’. Currently massive migration processes are also connected with questions and symptoms of a crisis of collective identities. At the same time, issues of multiple identities gain more importance.

scholarly journals The role of regional identity in the structure of collective identities of the student youth of the Republic of Mordovia

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 68-80
Author(s):  
Natalya V. Shumkova ◽  
Oleg E. Zubov
Keyword(s):  
Young People ◽  
Collective Identity ◽  
Regional Identity ◽  
Collective Identities ◽  
Collective Identification ◽  
Emotional Component ◽  
Regional Community ◽  
Regional Component ◽  
The Republic

This article studies the structure of collective identities of modern student youth. The subject of the authors’ scientific interest is the role of regional identity in the structure of collective identities of young people in the Republic of Mordovia. The specifics of regional identity as a form of collective identification, its mobility, contextuality, heterogeneity, latency, productivity, and collective genesis are considered in detail. The priority of purposeful construction of positive regional identity as an effective tool for the preservation and development of human capital at the regional level is substantiated. The methodological framework of the study is based on the works by V. A. Tishkov, V. A. Yadov, and M. P. Krylov. The empirical basis of the study includes the data from a mass survey of student youth in the Republic of Mordovia (2020, questionnaire, quota sample, n = 414). Based on the collected empirical material, the regional component of students’ collective identity is comprehensively analyzed. According to the data obtained, identification with the regional community belongs to the identities of the modal level. Only a third (32%) of the surveyed students have a positive regional identity, while the majority of young people in Mordovia identify themselves with the region only nominally. The pronounced emotional component of regional identity is mostly characteristic of the representatives of the titular (Mordovian) nationality. The authors emphasize that in this case, the merging of ethnic and regional identities does not have any conflict potential, because the majority of the respondents perceive Mordovia as a full-fledged subject of the Russian Federation. The conclusion is made about the necessity of diversifying “image projects” in order to build a positive image of the republic among young people.

scholarly journals Collective Identity Supporting Sustainability Transformations in Ecovillage Communities

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (15) ◽  
pp. 8148
Author(s):  
Ciska Ulug ◽  
Lummina Horlings ◽  
Elen-Maarja Trell
Keyword(s):  
Interpersonal Relationships ◽  
Collective Identity ◽  
The United States ◽  
Community Life ◽  
Collective Identities ◽  
Ethnographic Data ◽  
Mainstream Society ◽  
Sustainability Principles ◽  
Depth Interviews ◽  
Scholarly Attention

Ecovillages are collective projects that attempt to integrate sustainability principles into daily community life, while also striving to be demonstration projects for mainstream society. As spaces of experimentation, they can provide valuable insights into sustainability transformations. Through shared values and interpersonal connections, ecovillages possess collective identities, which provide a platform for enacting their ideals. However, many ecovillage residents question how to best enhance their role as models, resource centers, and pieces of a greater movement toward sustainability transformations, while simultaneously preserving their unique community and identity. In relation to the above, this paper addresses the questions: What can collective identity in ecovillage communities teach us about the objective and subjective dimensions of sustainability transformations? Furthermore, how can the perspective of collective identity highlight challenges for ecovillages for initiating sustainability transformations? Sustainability transformations encompass objective (behaviors) and subjective (values) dimensions; however, the interactions between these spheres deserve more scholarly attention. Using ethnographic data and in-depth interviews from three ecovillages in the United States, this paper reveals the value in collective identity for underscoring belonging and interpersonal relationships in sustainability transformations. Furthermore, the collective identity perspective exposes paradoxes and frictions between ecovillages and the societal structures and systems they are embedded within.

Intersectionality, Social Identity Theory, and Explorations of Hybridity

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lucy Taksa ◽  
Glen Powell ◽  
Laknath Jayasinghe
Keyword(s):  
Social Identity ◽  
Cognitive Processes ◽  
Collective Identity ◽  
Social Identity Theory ◽  
Identity Theory ◽  
Group Processes ◽  
Multiple Identities ◽  
Close Attention ◽  
Identity Negotiations ◽  
Bodily Experiences

The fundamental difference in focus between the fields of sociology and psychology, notably between discriminatory processes and cognitive processes, has limited attempts to consider intersectionality and Social Identity Theory (SIT) together. The aim of this chapter is to address this gap by combining intersectional and SIT approaches, recognizing their contributions and identifying issues and gaps. The chapter provides an overview of the epistemological and ontological differences between the two fields and the divergent ways intersectional and SIT scholars conceptualise individual and collective identity/ies. Close attention is given to the way multiple identities and groups are construed and interpreted. The chapter highlights the significance of conceptualizations of emergent identities, hybridity, practices and space for the study of identity. On this basis, itr examines how studies on spatial contexts of racialised masculinity and the bodily experiences of racialised men can enhance understandings of individual identity negotiations and group processes in specific locations.

scholarly journals Contemporary understanding of the spiritual message of the Kosovo myth

2019 ◽  
pp. 313-325
Author(s):  
Borislav Grozdic ◽  
Valerija Dabetic
Keyword(s):  
Collective Identity ◽  
Historical Consciousness ◽  
Value System ◽  
National Integration ◽  
Common Value ◽  
The Core ◽  
The Past ◽  
Spiritual Community ◽  
The World ◽  
Definition Of

In the aggressive dominance of critical rational thinking over the mythical worldview, myth as a historical and effective force does not lose its actuality and importance, because myths often hide deeper messages than what history can offer. In such a social context, the significance of the spiritual message of the Kosovo myth - the commitment to the Heavenly Kingdom, as a lasting common value of the Serbian people, returns as a theme. In spite of its omnipresence, the opinion prevails that the myth belongs to the past, and if it is not yet obsolete, it certainly should be. The authors advocate the idea that myth, as a comprehensive experience of the world, and therefore the Kosovo myth as well, is a factor of national integration, a part of collective identity, and a common value system. Analysing the secular and spiritual understanding of the Kosovo myth, the authors point out the importance of the vivid memory of the prince Lazar?s commitment to the Heavenly Kingdom. For Christians, this represents the value and goal above all others and it forms the core of the Serbian historical consciousness and spiritual community. The paper shows that the spiritual message of the Kosovo myth is not understood or it is misunderstood nowadays, since the commitment to Kosovo is perceived as a call and an obligation to die for it. The authors conclude that the Kosovo myth is not a call to die in the war, on the contrary, it is a struggle for external and internal freedom, as well as for the highest values that are implied by the definition of the Heavenly Kingdom ? peace, love, honour, justice, dignity, and others.

Simple Hardworking Christian Folks, or the Self-Image of Contemporary Belarusian Kolkhozniks

2013 ◽  
Vol 27 (2) ◽  
pp. 260-279
Author(s):  
Anna Engelking
Keyword(s):  
Collective Identity ◽  
Field Research ◽  
The Self ◽  
Self Image ◽  
Building Process ◽  
The Common ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Christian Nation ◽  
Source Materials ◽  
Insight Into

This article concerns the anthropological inquiry about collective identity of contemporary Belarusian kolkhozniks. The author had conducted her field research (1993-2011) in both west and east Belarus. Source materials consist of about seven hundred conversations with individuals overwhelmingly more than sixty years of age. By analyzing and interpreting their narrative, the author traced the implicit values, norms, rules, basic semiotic dichotomies, and distinctive attributes in search of an unbiased insight into the content, structure, and building process of collective identity of the subjects under study. She concludes that the dichotomies, constitutive for collective identity of kolkhozniks—“peasant” versus “lord,” “peasant” versus “Jew,” and “Christian” versus “Jew”—result in the self-definition of muzhik-kolkhoznik as a simple, hard-working man “from here” belonging to a “Christian nation.” Neither the nation nor motherland, state nor language, belongs to the principal values of this group, which are “working the land” and “faith in God.” As a result of the petrifaction of the old model of the serfdom manor by the Soviet kolkhoz system, in a Belarusian village we presently encounter one of the last European residuals of premodern mentality and social identity. The image of Belarusian kolkhozniks’ collective identity has little to do with the popular category of Homo sovieticus and with the common stereotype of the kolkhoz. The human subject of the author’s anthropological reflection shows up as a person dealing amazingly well with extremely difficult living conditions and the modern, vivid personification of the archaic Homo religiosus.

De verbeelding van moeras en veen

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (3/4) ◽  
pp. 292-310
Author(s):  
Lesley Penné ◽  
Arvi Sepp
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Memory ◽  
Historical Analysis ◽  
Regional Identity ◽  
German Language ◽  
Important Place ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Border Regions ◽  
Language Area ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
The Relationship

Abstract The Representation of Marsh and Bog: Figurations of the Marshy Soil as a Topos of Community in Contemporary German-Language Belgian Literature Literature from border regions is often characterised by a specific transcultural poetics that reflects the liminal as discourse and experience. In contemporary German-language prose from East Belgium (‘Ostbelgien’), the topological representation of swamp and moor occupies an important place. We will show how swamp and moor express the complex definition of national and regional identity of the German-language area in Belgium and become relevant topoi in regard to cultural memory. Literature can be seen as a privileged medium of criticism for expressing the pressures of the unspoken and the closed and for initiating intra-community public discussions. Through a cultural-historical analysis of the various figurations of bog and moor, we will examine how the relationship between landscape and community is represented and conceived in contemporary Germanophone Belgian literature.

Rationality in International Relations

1998 ◽  
Vol 52 (4) ◽  
pp. 919-941 ◽  
Author(s):  
Miles Kahler
Keyword(s):  
International Relations ◽  
Rational Choice ◽  
International Competition ◽  
Structural Constraints ◽  
Level Playing Field ◽  
Rational Decision ◽  
Playing Field ◽  
Rational Decision Making ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Social Entities

Rationalist models have faced four persistent sets of critics as the research program of international relations has evolved. Under neorealism's structural constraints of international competition and selection, agents' rationality may appear superfluous. Psychological critics have presented neither a single theoretical alternative to rational choice nor contingent hypotheses that specify when psychological distortions of rational decision making are most likely. Both rational choice and psychological approaches must construct models of action for social entities that aggregate individuals. The rationality and individualism of beliefs is questioned by theorists who stress culture, identity, and norms as independent sources of action. Careful stipulation of scope, acknowledgment of methodological shortcomings, and precise definition of differences can serve to bridge the theoretical divide between rational choice models and their critics. Problem-centered research provides a level playing field on which theoretical competition can be established.

Defenders of Nature and the Comarca: Collective Identity and Frames in Panama

2010 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 63-80 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lynn Horton
Keyword(s):  
Indigenous Peoples ◽  
Collective Identity ◽  
Collective Identities ◽  
Land Claims ◽  
Institutional Practices ◽  
Indigenous Identity ◽  
Identity Based ◽  
Multiple Frames ◽  
Indigenous Land

This article examines collective identities as both a resource and constraint in framing processes of social mobilization through a case study of Panama's Kuna Indians, one of Latin America's most effectively organized indigenous peoples. It highlights tensions between movement nurturance of distinct indigenous identity as intrinsically valuable and to a degree counterhegemonic and instrumental use of an environmental frame to advance indigenous land claims. This article also explores shifts in dominant discourse and institutional practices that provide both opportunities for identity-based movements as well as risks. One way identity groups address tensions between appropriation of externally generated frames for instrumental goals and the nurturing of distinct collective identities is to manage multiple frames aimed at distinct audiences with distinct content. errors are the sole responsibility of the author.

scholarly journals Trump, Populism, and American Foreign Policy

2019 ◽  
Vol 16 (3) ◽  
pp. 292-311 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thorsten Wojczewski
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Policy ◽  
International Relations ◽  
American Foreign Policy ◽  
The United States ◽  
Discursive Construction ◽  
Collective Identities ◽  
Donald Trump ◽  
Lacanian Psychoanalysis ◽  
Self And Other

Abstract Employing a discursive understanding of populism and combing it with insights of poststructuralist international relations theory and Lacanian psychoanalysis, this article examines the conceptual links between foreign policy and populist forms of identity construction, as well as the ideological force that populism can unfold in the realm of foreign policy. It conceptualizes populism and foreign policy as distinct discourses that constitute collective identities by relating Self and Other. Identifying different modes of Othering, the article illustrates its arguments with a case study on the United States under Donald Trump and shows how the Trumpian discourse has used foreign policy as a platform for the (re)production of a populist-nationalist electoral coalition. Unlike common conceptions of populism as an ideology that misrepresents reality, the article argues that the discourse develops its ideological appeal by obscuring the discursive construction of social reality and thereby promising to satisfy the subject's desire for a complete and secure identity.

Sexual Laborers and Entrepreneurial Women: Articulating Collective Identity in India’s HIV/AIDS Response

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gowri Vijayakumar
Keyword(s):  
Collective Identity ◽  
Sex Workers ◽  
Collective Identities ◽  
Sex Worker ◽  
Aids Epidemic ◽  
Life Trajectories ◽  
Political Orientations ◽  
Interview Methods ◽  
Symbolic Processes ◽  
Hiv Aids

AbstractThis article uses ethnographic and interview methods to compare two groups of sex workers in Bangalore, both of which formed during the response to the HIV/AIDS epidemic. In this context, donor priorities fundamentally shaped the landscape for sex worker organizations, but the two groups formed very different collective identities. I argue that the content of collective identity is not predetermined by the conditions set by global Northern funding. Instead, I show how collective identity is articulated, in a locally specific process of relating political orientations to local associational fields, within, but not predetermined by, global funding constraints. As each group positioned itself in a distinct local associational field, it articulated a distinct collective identity, the Women’s Collective as entrepreneurial women (a more respectable collective identity), and the Union as sexual laborers (a more transgressive one). Articulation unfolded through material as well as symbolic processes, shaping members’ life trajectories and their understandings of them. This article complicates accounts of Northern funding and institutional opportunities as predetermining the paths and visions of social movements.

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