Identity construction: New issues, new directions

Pg 386 – “Sociologists focused primarily on the formation of the “me.,” exploring the ways in which interpersonal interactions mold an individual’s sense of self. But identity research of the past two decades proves antithetical to traditional concerns, a shift largely fueled by three important trends.

1.    Social and nationalist movements of the past three decades have shifted scholarly attention to issues of group agency and political action. As a result, identity studies have been relocated to the site of the collective, with gender/sexuality, race/ethnicity, and class forming the “holy trinity” of the discursive field (Appiah & gates, 1995:1). Writings attend, in particular, to that which constitutes a collective and the political implications that result from collective definitions.
2.    Intellectual concerns with agency and self-direction have re-energized the study of identification processes. At the level of the collective, scholars are examining the mechanics by which distinctions are created, maintained, and changed.
3.    New communication technologies have freed interactions from the requirements of physical copresence; these technologies have expanded the array of generalized others contributing to the construction of the self. Several research foci emerge from this development: the substance of “I,” “me,” and the generalized other in a milieu void of place, the establishment of “communities of the mind,” and the negotiations of copresent and cyberspace identities.”

~ Just interesting to see what other things are being studied. I think I’m not really on any of these three things.

Pg 390 – “…Benedict Anderson’s (1991) work on imagined community. Anderson approaches national identity as a sociocognitive construct – one both spatially and temporally inclusive, both enabled and shaped by broader social forces. He documents key moments of identity construction, times during which cultural (language) and social factors (capitalism, print technology) convene in a particular historical moment, effectively remaking collective images of the national self (also see Bloom 1990).

~ I don’t really know why, but somehow this makes me think of silo-ed identities, and horizontal or vertically integrated identities. For instance, if someone’s identities all deal with the same sort of global person then they are horizontally integrated. This leads to a greater level of identity coordination, less dissonance, and fewer chances for one to develop. If one’s identity is vertically integrated, that is, the identities one inhabits do not all coordinate together that well, then it leads to lower levels of identity coordination, more dissonance, and more chances to develop different identities.

Pg 397 – “In the present environment, one cannot consider identity without reference to new communication technologies (NCTs). NCTs have changed the backdrop against which identity is constructed; they have reframed the generalized others and the “generalized elsewhere’s” (Meyrowitz 1989) from which the self takes its cues.”

~ Interesting, but understandable. Things like the internet have opened up whole new ways to communicate, and since communication is the backdrop through which all identities and cultures are formed it makes sense to study it.

Pg 397 – “According to Meyrowitz, NCTs weaken or sever the connections between physical and social “place.””

~ True, which in turn leads to more cultures taking place over varied space. But without good auditory and verbal communication these identities are not very congruous and lead to much different identities being formed through the same culture.

Pg 398 – “In this way, NCTs create new environments for self-development and identification; they present new opportunities for collective affiliation and mobilization.”

~ Meaning, in my mind at least, more opportunities for cultures to be formed.

Pg 398 – “But while keyboards may transport us to places not easily accessed in the past, Altheie argues that the technology limits and directs the form and substance of the social interaction it enables.”

~ This leads back into the idea that communication is not as strong in these areas, so the cultures differ more and thus identities differ more due to more variance in personal history.

Pg 399 – “Sherry Turkle (1995), for example, explores online communities and their impact on personal identity construction.”

~ Good to look into doing further research on.

Pg 399 – “Further, Turkle documents the ways in which individuals negotiate online identities relative to other facets of the self.”

~ Also good to do further research on multiple identities.

Pg 399 – “…Turkle’s work forces us to question any perspective that places virtual experience second to the concrete.”

~ Interesting. I think that concrete experience is more important, but I suppose the argument could be made that it is not.

Pg 399 – “In another arena, Byron Reeves & Clifford Nass (1996) approach communication media as objects relevant to identity-building interactions. In essence, the authors find that media objects become a viable “other” in the building of self, and they outline the ways in which human-to-machine relationships mirror purely human relationship.”

~ Interesting, might also want to do further research on.
Cerulo, K. A. (1997). Identity Construction: New issues, new directions. Annual review of sociology, 23. Retrieved November 9, 2008, from JSTOR database.