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Identity construction involves the establishment of a set of criteria for distinguishing between group members and nonmembers. These criteria might include skin colour, ancestry, place of origin, a cultural practice, or something else- or a lot of things at once. The point is not the specific criteria used as boundary markers, but the categorical boundary they signify-the line between “us” and “them. – Cornell (81)
In the epigraph, American sociologist Stephen Cornell claims that the reshaping of identity does not depend solely on fixed criteria; identity is relational, built upon assumptions about the differences between “us” and “them”. The view of Cornell vividly depicts the importance of identity in determining man’s position in the society.
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As religious categories have received much airing in the recent years, it is emerging as a dominant factor to define one’s identity in the contemporary world. This dissertation Colors of Violence: Study of Cultural Identities, Religion and Politics in Taslima Nasreen’s Lajja, Shashi Tharoor’s Riot: A Love Story and Rajendra Kumar Mishra’s India And The Clash of Civilizations is a serious attempt to explore the need to protect identity through the analysis of Hindu- Muslim relationship in Indian subcontinent. It exhibits that identity which has religious connotation enables the leaders to use it as a weapon to meet their own selfish end. Similarly religious organizations, utilize it for political clout to preserve hold on their vote bank. The places of worship are being converted into centers of political …show more content…
She is Bangladeshi author who has been living in exile since 1994. She has appeared on the literary firmament as a very articulate, thought provoking and provocative writer. She raises her voice of protest against exploitation, particularly gender-based and religion-based exploitation. Her literary career started at the age of thirteen when she wrote poetry. Her novel Lajja, which was published in 1992, proves to be a turning point in her life. In Lajja Taslima Nasreen questions religion as a basis of constituting a nationality. When Hindus in India demolished Babri Masjid, Hindus in Bangladesh suffered terrible ramifications .She has given graphic description of the inhuman brutalities meted out by Muslim fundamentalists to Hindus sufferings after the demolition of Babri Masjid in India. This chapter deals with the alienation of Hindus in Bangladesh due to their religious identity. This chapter discusses how identity based on the religion becomes the sole reason to justify violence. It depicts various psychological reason which enables man to justify violence. It shows how such kind of violence in the name of religion results into alienation of Hindus i.e. victims in
Although the concept of identity is recurrent in our daily lives, it has interpreted in various ways.
Kwame Appiah, author of Racial Identities, explores the complexity between individual and collective identity. Throughout the text, Appiah attempts to define these complicated notions, noting their similarities and differences. He calls upon the ideas of other philosophers and authors to help formulate his own. Essentially, individual and collective identity are very much intertwined. Appiah argues that collective identities are very much related to behavior. There is not one particular way a certain ethnic group acts, but instead “modes of behavior (Appiah 127).” These behavioral acts provide loose norms or models. However, Appiah also notes that it is how individuals essentially make or allow these collective identities to become central
Identity is very important in a person’s life. It can induce pride or shame, provide a community or provide a way to distinguish one’s self from others. But, where does this identity come from? It is easy to assume we are who we are because of who raised us, but this is not the entire case. Andrew Solomon, author of “Far from the Tree” introduced two different forms of identity, vertical and horizontal. He defines vertical identity as the attributes acquired and shared by the people we are raised by and horizontal identity as the attributes different from those who raised us, but are shared and acquired through a peer community. These two types of identities generally do not intersect and, depending on the circumstance, one can greatly impact
Culture and identity are two very strange ideas. They are received at a very young age, yet they are very hard to give to someone else. They will affect you for the rest or your life, yet for the most part you are born into them. However, they soon become very important to us and we cannot, no matter what we do, live without them. They are a part of us, and a vital aspect of society. However, it took me a very long time to recognize that I had an identity and a little while after that before I knew what it was.
People identify themselves using not only qualities within them, but through culture and family as well. Through these few examples, it is easy to see some of the foundations that can foster an entire, complex identity. It is understandable how interesting and varied humans can be, drawing from so many directions to build who they are. Identity is not very complex at all, it comes through living day to day.
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.
What is identity? Identity is an unbound formation which is created by racial construction and gender construction within an individual’s society even though it is often seen as a controlled piece of oneself. In Dr. Beverly Daniel Tatum’s piece, “The Complexity of Identity: ‘Who Am I?’, Tatum asserts that identity is formed by “individual characteristics, family dynamics, historical factors, and social and political contexts” (Tatum 105). Tatum’s piece, “The Complexity of Identity: ‘Who Am I?’” creates a better understanding of how major obstacles such as racism and sexism shape our self identity.
Identity is a person’s socially and historically constructed concept. We learn and determine our own identity through the interactions of family, peers, media and also other connections that we have encounter in our life. Gender, social class, age and experience of the world are the key concepts which plays a substantial role in shaping how we are by facing obstacles in our lives. According to Mead (1934) as cited in Thulin, Miller, Secher, and Colson (2009), identity theory determines
Being able to identify with a certain group has been an issue that individuals hesitate with daily. Am I Black, are you a girl, what religion do you practice? These are all common questions that society has forced individuals to concentrate on. Should an individual have to pick a side or is it relevant to the human race to identify with any group? One may believe not, but for others having and knowing one’s own identity is important, because it is something that they have been developing their entire life. Along with how their identity influenced their life chances and their self-esteem. This can also affect how society interact with whatever identity an individual chooses to live. Which is why it was important to recognize how identifying
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.
membership of a group, either from personal choice or as an external imposition, but which nonetheless implies the existence of an ‘us’ and a ‘them’, and therefore the concept of ‘other’. 2. The search for a common identity on the part of the group members. 3. The perception on the part of other groups of more or less coherent stereotypes ascribed to the ethnic group in question” (Bolaffi et al., 2003: 94).
Burke, P.J. & Stets, J.E. (2000). Identity Theory and Social Identity Theory. Social Psychology Quarterly 63(3), 224-237
For the purposes of this study I have defined cultural identity as the feeling of self-definition an individual has which is formed through a sense of belonging to a certain group. In this presentation I will be looking specifically at the effects of religion to this sense of cultural identity.
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
Cultural identity refers to the feeling belonging to a certain culture that is attributed to the upbringing of an individual in the given culture. Cultural identity gives a person the sense of belonging and belonging towards their culture. Modern cultural studies show that cultural identification has taken a new face. Various cultural identifiers can be used to identify the culture of an individual. These identifiers include nationality, language, location, gender, religious beliefs, history, and ethnicity. Culture is important in shaping the identity of an individual. The efforts of people trying to preserve their cultural identities can bring about hatred and division in the society. This is likely to happen especially in large cities where people with different cultural identities meet. Coming up with a common cultural identity can be a critical idea. This is because; people will have something in common to share unlike where different people have different cultural identities. Globalization has destroyed cultural identities of certain groups and individuals across the globe. Cultural assumption about various identities brings about the influence on these identities.