Identity (Anthropology)

Introduction

Anthropologists have long been fascinated by how individuals and collectives understand and construct themselves and one another. However, the use of the specific term “identity” has a surprisingly recent emergence in public parlance, and is generally attributed to the psychologist Erik Erikson’s work on psychological development in the 1960s. Prior to this work, anthropologists used other words to describe what would now be called identity. Today, the term has widespread mainstream use and is employed to describe an expanding range of social and political concerns. As the term has gained popularity, so have its meanings shifted. Now, it is used in a multitude of (sometimes contradictory) ways across disciplines, topics, and contexts. The term is attributed to both individuals and groups, and can be used to refer to the religious, political, private, cultural, or ethnic realms. Identity is considered a source of both cohesion and violence, and can alternately represent sameness or difference, be an imposition or a choice, singular or fractured, and static or fluid. There is a particular tension between the idea of an innate, stable identity and the “postmodern” construction of identity as an amalgam of multiple incoherent and unstable selves. The diversity of ways in which the term is employed makes it difficult to define and has led to some calling for it to be abandoned as an etic term. Anthropologists have tended to focus primarily on collective identities, from the ethnic and cultural, to political, religious, or gendered. Increasingly, anthropologists have examined the “hybridity” of identities, in which the idea of rigid group boundaries has given way to the sense of movement between multiple identities. The notion of a stable, inner identity has largely been replaced with recognition that identities are beset with contradiction, fluidity, and contestation. These identity-based tensions are often conceptualized as being products of globalization, postcolonialism, transnationalism, and the formation of diaspora. Anthropologists also call attention to how identities are invented, challenged, and sustained for political and other purposes. This focus includes a wealth of work on identity-based violence, xenophobia, multiculturalism, and social movements known as “identity politics,” in which groups advocate legal recognition of their identities.

General Overviews

Despite the pervasive use of the term “identity” within anthropology, anthropological textbooks and encyclopedias often do not have stand-alone sections on identity, but rather discuss the term through reference to other concepts, such as personhood, socialization, classification, and ethnicity. An exception is Mitchell 2010, a succinct entry to The Routledge Encyclopedia of Social and Cultural Anthropology. There are, however, many comprehensive introductions to anthropological scholarship on identity. The edited volume Appiah and Gates 1995 offers a comprehensive and multidisciplinary overview, with contributions from leading scholars of anthropology, sociology, literary criticism, and philosophy. Jenkins 2008 also provides an accessible but critical introduction to identity debates within the social sciences, covering most of the key topics on the subject (it is also cited under Social and Cultural Identity and Postmodern Identities). Kathryn Woodward has edited two particularly relevant introductions to the concept of identity. The contributors to Woodward 2004 draw on work from various disciplines, focusing on issues of identity relating to gender, class, ethnicity, race, and nation. The later book Woodward 2007 not only provides a broad introduction to the debates, but also includes extracts from key texts and questions for the reader (also cited under Defining “Identity”). The now famous article Brubaker and Cooper 2000 is primarily centered on critiquing the notion of identity as an analytical term, but also offers a comprehensive summary of the history of the term from its inception in philosophy and psychoanalysis to its wider use in social thought (also cited under A Problematic Term and Defining “Identity”). The historical development of identity discourses is also charted by Alcoff and Mendieta 2003, an edited volume that brings together key articles and essays from psychology, culture, politics, economics, philosophy, and history, starting with foundational texts from Hegel, Marx, Freud, and George Herbert Mead (b. 1863–d. 1931), and going on to include contemporary works (also cited under History of the Term). In a similar vein, the edited volume du Gay, et al. 2000 collates key statements on identity from thirty eminent theorists, touching upon psychoanalysis, feminism, colonialism, sociology, and history.

Alcoff, L. Martín, and E. Mendieta, eds. 2003. Identities: Race, class, gender and nationality. Oxford: Blackwell.
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Includes thirty-four foundational and key texts from theorists on identity, covering race, ethnicity, class, gender, sexuality, nationalism, and “reconfigurations.” An introduction written by Alcoff provides an overview of many of the key issues relating to identity, including debates over the relevance of the concept and identity-based conflict.
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Appiah, K. A., and H. L. Gates, eds. 1995. Identities (A critical inquiry book). Chicago: Univ. of Chicago Press.
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Includes twenty articles on various aspects of identity, including race, class, gender, postcolonialism, globalization, nationalism, sexuality, and ethnicity. Contributors include Jonathan Boyarin and Judith Butler.
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Brubaker, R., and F. Cooper. 2000. Beyond “identity.” Theory and Society 29.1: 1–47.
DOI: 10.1023/A:1007068714468Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
Well-known, influential article that is usually cited in relation to the authors’ argument that the concept of identity has become unworkably problematic. However, the article is also a helpful summary on the broader topic and its development. It is a technical piece and may not be best suited for undergraduates.
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du Gay, P., J. Evans, and P. Redman, eds. 2000. Identity: A reader. London: SAGE.
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Three contextualizing essays from the editors complement thirty essays from eminent writers, including Stuart Hall, Louis Althusser, Homi Bhabha, Michel Foucault, Judith Butler, Frantz Fanon, Anthony Giddens, Pierre Bourdieu, and Marcel Mauss. The book is divided into three parts: “Language, Ideology and Discourse”; “Psychoanalysis and Psycho-Social Relations”; and “Identity, Sociology and History.”
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Jenkins, R. 2008. Social identity. 3d ed. London: Routledge.
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First published in 1996, with later editions (2004 and 2008) updated to include new material, including postmodern theories of identity. Topics covered include issues around similarity and difference, categorization, self-identification, and role of institutions in identification. Suitable for postgraduates and advanced undergraduates. Targeted for anthropologists, sociologists, and social psychologists.
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Mitchell, J. 2010. Identity. In The Routledge encyclopedia of social and cultural anthropology. 2d ed. Edited by A. Barnard and J. Spencer, 368–369. Abingdon, UK: Routledge.
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First published in 1996. The two-page identity entry covers the development and ambiguities of the term, cites several key anthropologists writing on the subject, and cross-references a number of related concepts, including ethnicity, gender, and sex.
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Woodward, K. 2004. Questioning identity: Gender, class, ethnicity. London: Routledge.
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Easily accessible introduction, ideal for students starting out in the social sciences. Draws on multiple disciplines and focuses particularly on identity in relation to gender, class, and ethnicity.
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Woodward, K., ed. 2007. Identity and difference. Culture, Media and Identities series. London: SAGE.
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Easy to use and suitable for undergraduates, this broad-ranging book includes extracts from the key texts as well as activities for the reader in the form of paragraphs of questions and suggested tasks. Works well as a study guide or reference tool.
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Journals

There are several anthropological journals that are pertinent to scholars of identity. Two well- established journals that are especially relevant are Identities: Global Studies in Culture and Power and Social Identities: Journal for the Study of Race, Nation and Culture. The former explores the relationship between racial, ethnic, and national identities with power hierarchies within national and global arenas. The journal is intended to provide an interdisciplinary space for new empirical research and critical analysis on race, ethnicity, and culture. The journal Social Identities is concerned with the formations of, and transformations in, social identities, including in terms of power relations, material exclusion, and the political and cultural possibilities that identities open up. There are also many journals that focus on particular facets of social identities, such as those of ethnicity, nationality, religion, and gender. High-quality examples include the interdisciplinary journals Ethnic and Racial Studies, Citizenship Studies, and the Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies. The journal Ethnicities often covers identity-related questions, aiming as it does to engender dialogue on questions of ethnicity, nationalism, and related topics, such as identity politics and minority rights. The Journal of Gender Studies is a good source of articles on sex and gender-related identity. It is also worth noting that the main anthropological journals regularly include articles that are explicitly or implicitly concerned with identity-related matters.

Citizenship Studies.
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The journal analyzes citizenship in the context of identity, participation, empowerment, globalization, and human rights. It is published by Routledge eight times a year and covers political sociology, human geography, and social policy.
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Ethnic and Racial Studies.
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Leading journal on ethnicity and nationalism. This interdisciplinary, theory-rich journal is published fourteen times a year, with contributors hailing from sociology, social policy, anthropology, political science, economics, geography, international relations, history, social psychology, and cultural studies.
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Ethnicities. 2001–.
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Published by SAGE, this journal is cross-disciplinary in nature, although centered on sociology and politics. Papers tend to explore culture and socioeconomic structures in relation to ethnicity, social movements, migration, and the nation state.
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Identities: Global Studies in Culture and Power. 1994–.
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The journal, published by Routledge, has been in production since 1994. In addition to anthropology, its contributors draw from cultural studies, sociology, social policy, cultural geography, political science, and social psychology. It is published in association with Ethnic and Racial Studies.
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Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies. 1998–.
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Articles discuss all forms of migration, including in relation to ethnic conflict, discrimination, racism, nationalism, and citizenship. There are twelve issues a year, and contributors draw from international relations, sociology, politics, and social policy.
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Journal of Gender Studies.
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A British interdisciplinary journal that publishes articles relating to gender and sex from a feminist perspective. Subject areas covered include social and natural sciences, the arts, humanities, and popular culture.
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Social Identities: Journal for the Study of Race, Nation and Culture. 1995–.
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The journal is published by Routledge six times a year. Disciplines covered include anthropology, ethnic identity, nationalism, political philosophy, international relations, race, sociology, and social policy.
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History of the Term

Although debates regarding identity-type issues, such as the self, have existed within Western philosophy for centuries, the actual term “identity” has a surprisingly short history. Alcoff and Mendieta 2003 (also cited under General Overviews) offers thirty-four key texts that reflect these developments. Essays are included from philosophers and foundational writers across disciplines, from Hegel, Freud, and Karl Marx, to more recent scholars writing on identity in relation to race, gender, class, and nationalism. Identity-focused philosophical debates go back to at least the 17th century and developed in various ways across different philosophical sub-disciplines. Morris 1991 gives an overview of these debates, including the ongoing tension between empirical and rationalist philosophers regarding the nature of the self, and how examines the effect of these debates on social scientists such as Durkheim. The introduction of the term identity into wider society occurred only in the second half of the 20th century, primarily as a result of the work of psychologists. Erikson 1980 introduces the term “identity crisis” and is a key psychoanalytic text on the topic. Freud 1989 also popularizes the concept of identity, through psychoanalytical discussion on identification and the incoherence of the self. Even if anthropologists and other social theorists adopted the lexicon of identity only after the 1960s, however, they have always explored phenomena that would in the 21st century be described with the use of the term. For example, Evans-Pritchard 1987 describes group membership and the boundaries of belonging but does not use the language of identity. Early sociologists and social psychologists also worked on identity-type issues. This topic includes Mead 1967 and Goffman 1963, both of which explore how individuals are shaped by wider community and social structures. One of the first anthropological texts to explicitly use the term identity is Epstein 1978. Focused on the construction of ethnic identity, the text recognizes that people do not have a single identity but carry a range of identities at any time.

Alcoff, L. Martín, and E. Mendieta, eds. 2003. Identities: Race, class, gender and nationality. Oxford: Blackwell.
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Collection of thirty-four key historical and contemporary texts on identity by philosophers, psychologists, feminists, social theorists, and historians, including pieces by Hegel, Marx, and Freud.
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Epstein, A. L. 1978. Ethnos and identity: Three studies in ethnicity. London: Tavistock.
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Epstein examines ethnic identity, emphasizing the construction of ethnic identity in relation to particular political contexts. In so doing, he stresses the role of boundaries rather than content in the formation of ethnic identity. Contexts covered include Melanesia, the United States, and Zambia.
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Erikson, E. H. 1980. Identity and the life cycle. New York: Norton.
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Erikson investigates identity construction over the life course, focusing on adolescence. He suggests that personal identity is located in the unconscious and is the persistent sense of sameness of the self. First published in 1959, this book collects several of Erikson’s early papers and is a good introduction to his theories.
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Evans-Pritchard, E. E. 1987. The Nuer: A description of the modes of livelihood and political institutions of a Nilotic people. Oxford: Oxford Univ. Press.
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First published in 1940, this ethnography of the social structure, economy, values, and communities of the Nuer people in the 1930s remains a classic of early British social anthropology. This is one of Evans-Pritchard’s major works and provides a thorough example of structural-functionalism.
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Freud, S. 1989. The ego and the id. Translated by J. Riviere. New York: Norton.
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Originally published in 1923 in German as Das Ich und das Es. This study outlines Freud’s theories of the psychodynamics of the id, ego, and superego and was critical to the development of psychoanalysis. This version was translated by Joan Riviere and revised by James Strachey; it includes a biographical introduction by Peter Gay.
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Goffman, E. 1963. Stigma: Notes on the management of spoiled identity. London: Penguin.
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Throughout his work, Goffman explored how the self of the individual is shaped by social contexts. In this book he draws on autobiographies and case studies to focus on the relational process of social stigma, arguing that stigmatized individuals must constantly adjust their social identities in response to external pressures.
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Mead, G. H. 1967. Mind, self and society: From the standpoint of a social behaviorist. Chicago: Univ. of Chicago Press.
DOI: 10.7208/chicago/9780226516608.001.0001Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
First published in 1934, this social psychology piece examines how society shapes individuals and identities. Argues that “no hard and fast line can be drawn between our own selves and the selves of others.” Book includes an introduction by Charles Morris. “Part III. The Self” is particularly relevant.
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Morris, B. 1991. Western conceptions of the individual. Oxford: Berg.
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Although focused on debates on the individual in “Western” philosophy, much of the discussion touches upon debates regarding identity more broadly. Written for philosophers but accessible to postgraduate anthropologists, with the author noting the impact of philosophical debates on developments within the social sciences.
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Defining “Identity”

Identity is a highly contested and ambiguous term that can be used in a wide variety of ways. Several introductory works on identity summarize these tensions, including the opening chapters of Woodward 2007 (also cited under General Overviews). Gilroy 2007 (also cited under Transnationalism and Diasporic Identities) differentiates between “identity as” subjectivity (religion, internal identity), identity, self and other(identification, difference/sameness), and identity as social solidarity (e.g., political, movements). The well-known article Brubaker and Cooper 2000 (also cited under General Overviews and A Problematic Term) differentiates between three different meanings of identity, and suggests that that term is both a category of analysis and of practice. Others, such as Tilly 1996, prefer an open-ended definition that is flexible enough to encompass a range of meanings), although this approach risks allowing almost any experience or public representation of any tie to or role as identity (see A Problematic Term). Some scholars, particularly philosophers and psychologists but also some anthropologists, have sought ultimate truths about what identity is, approaching it as a preexisting fact or measurable entity. For example, Abdelal, et al. 2009 argues that identity can be used as a meaningful analytical variable with clear parameters. Most anthropologists are interested in emic definitions of identity and the employment of the concept in practice. Ethnographic research has illustrated considerable cultural variation in the imagining of identity and personhood, including by providing examples in which they are considered to be fluid, situational, or achieved, as exemplified by Strathern 1988 (also cited under Personhood, Self, and the Individual) and La Fontaine 1996. Social theorists increasingly approach identity as dynamic and fluid (see Postmodern Identities). Hall 1992, for example, suggests treating identity as a process, to take into account the reality of diverse and ever-changing social experience (also cited under Personhood, Self, and the Individual).

Abdelal, R., Y. Herrera, A. I. Johnston, and R. McDermott, eds. 2009. Measuring identity: A guide for social scientists. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge Univ. Press.
DOI: 10.1017/CBO9780511810909Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
Edited volume outlining different definitions and methodologies employed by social scientists empirically examining social identities at the collective level. The editors argue that although a variety of definitions of identity exist, concrete means of researching identity are possible. Methods discussed include surveys, content analysis, ethnography, and discourse analysis.
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Brubaker, R., and F. Cooper. 2000. Beyond “identity.” Theory and Society 29.1: 1–47.
DOI: 10.1023/A:1007068714468Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
In this important article, which critically challenges the use of the term identity, the authors distinguish between different meanings of the concept: (1) identification/categorization, (2) individual self-understanding, and (3) group commonality. This is a lengthy and dense article, best suited for postgraduates onward.
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Gilroy, P. 2007. Diaspora and the detours of identity. In Identity and difference. Edited by K. Woodward, 299–346. London: SAGE.
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Final chapter in Woodward’s edited introductory book on identity. Highly accessible, suitable for undergraduates. Other chapters in the volume will also be of interest.
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Hall, S. 1992. The question of cultural identity. In Modernity and its futures. Edited by S. Hall, D. Held, and T. McGrew, 273–325. Cambridge, UK: Polity.
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Chapter in an edited book. Hall critically addresses the argument that traditional sources of identity are in decline, fragmenting the individual as a unified subject. The first part of the chapter is particularly relevant to questions of definition as it discusses the concept of identity, including shifts in meaning.
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La Fontaine, J. S. 1996. Person and individual: Some anthropological reflections. In The category of the person: Anthropology, philosophy, history. Edited by M. Carrithers, S. Collins, and S. Lukes, 123–140. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge Univ. Press.
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Chapter in a key book on identity and personhood. La Fontaine explores the relationship between biological individuals and social persons, arguing that personhood is achieved and requires certain capabilities of power and influence. Speaks to Mauss’s work on personhood, which is reproduced in this edited volume.
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Strathern, M. 1988. The gender of the gift: The problems with women and the problems with society in Melanesia. Berkeley: Univ. of California Press.
DOI: 10.1525/california/9780520064232.001.0001Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
Original and ambitious study of Melanesia, in which Strathern argues that Western anthropologists and feminists have employed unexamined assumptions regarding gender relations. She theorizes the definition of gender amongst Papuan society and discusses the differences in conceptualizations of individuals.
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Tilly, C. 1996. Citizenship, identity and social history. In Citizenship, identity and social history. Edited by C. Tilly, 1–18. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge Univ. Press.
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Although critical of the term identity, Tilly defines it as a person’s experience of a “category, tie, role, network, group or organization.” (p. 7) He provides examples of race, gender, class, job, religious affiliation, and national origin. Other chapters in this volume, by historians and social scientists, explore citizenship and identity.
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Woodward, K., ed. 2007. Identity and difference. Culture, Media and Identities series. London: SAGE.
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This edited collection provides a useful introduction to the key themes on identity. The editor’s introduction and chapter “Concepts of Identity and Difference” include highly accessible discussion of definitions.
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A Problematic Term

Identity is a highly ambiguous concept with multiple meanings and can be employed in extremely different ways (see also Defining “Identity”). This ambiguity has led to scholars calling for the term to be used with greater precision, to be replaced with several distinct concepts, or even to be abandoned altogether. Such concern is not new. For example, in charting the semantic history of the concept of identity and its introduction into the social sciences in the 1980s, Gleason 1983 laments that the term has become a vague cliché with diffuse meanings. Others have argued that identity is a modern Euro-American concept and cannot be applied unproblematically to other temporal and spatial contexts. Handler 1988, for example, argues that the concept of identity should not be employed outside of contemporary “Western” (especially American) culture without caution, encouraging us to be as wary of identity as we have become of terms such as culture, tradition, and nation. One of the most famous works challenging the problematic nature of the concept of identity is Brubaker and Cooper 2000 (also cited under General Overviews and Defining “Identity”), which argues that the term means “too much (when understood in a strong sense), too little (when understood in a weak sense), or nothing at all (because of its sheer ambiguity),”(p. 1) and suggests that the term should be abandoned in social analysis. Despite such criticisms, however, the concept of identity remains heavily utilized within the social sciences and other disciplines. For example, although Tilly 2003 raises concerns regarding the widespread application of the term identity to all social phenomena, it is still argues that it is an indispensable (if blurry) concept and that rather than abandon it, we should “get identity right.” Similarly, Thornton 2007 suggests that the term is used so frequently in political and public discourses that it cannot be avoided, although we should take care in using it. Hall 1996 explains the apparent paradox between criticism of the concept of identity and its continued academic employment, by suggesting that although the concept has been put “under erasure,” it has not been superseded with a better concept.

Brubaker, R., and F. Cooper. 2000. Beyond “identity.” Theory and Society 29.1: 1–47.
DOI: 10.1023/A:1007068714468Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
Seminal article problematizing the concept of identity. The authors distinguish between identity as a category of practice and category of analysis, arguing that it means both “too much” and “too little” to be an effective analytical tool. This is a lengthy and dense article, perhaps best suited to postgraduates.
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Gleason, P. 1983. Identifying identity: A semantic history. Journal of American History 69.4: 910–931.
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In this journal article, Philip Gleason provides a “semantic history” of the term identity. The article is helpful in charting the development of the concept and in particular its introduction into the social sciences.
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Hall, S. 1996. Introduction: Who needs “identity”? In Questions of cultural identity. Edited by S. Hall and P. du Gay, 1–17. London: SAGE.
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The chapter explores the reasons that identity continues to be discussed so much by scholars, despite the profound and multidisciplinary criticisms afforded to the concept. Touches upon postmodernism and identification (i.e., how we identify with others).
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Handler, R. 1988. Nationalism and the politics of culture in Quebec. Madison: Univ. of Wisconsin Press.
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In a book focused on questions of cultural identity, politics, and nationalism in Quebec, Richard Handler cautions us to be suspicious and critical of the concept of identity, arguing that anthropological uses of “identity” are ethnocentric and rest upon culturally specific assumptions regarding sameness and boundedness.
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Thornton, P. 2007. Introduction: Identity matters. In Identity matters: Ethnic and sectarian conflict. Edited by J. L. Peacock, P. M. Thornton, and P. B. Inman, 1–13. Oxford: Berghahn.
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Introduction to book on the role of identity in ethnic and sectarian conflict, of which Thornton is one of the editors. Amongst other issues, this introductory chapter discusses the difficulties of the term identity and how social scientists should seek to minimize such problems.
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Tilly, C. 2003. Political identities in changing polities. Social Research 70.2: 605–620.
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Tilly is a sociologist, political scientist, and historian. He recognizes the difficulties of the concept of identity but advocates its continued usage, just with greater precision and care. This accessible article looks at political identity as well. The author describes identities as social arrangements and outlines what he sees as its four main components.
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Personhood, Self, and the Individual

The concept of identity is inextricably related to concepts of the person, self, and the individual. These are complex ideas in their own right and, like identity, are culturally and historically specific. Heller, et al. 1986 provides a multidisciplinary overview of these issues in “Western” thought, and Elliott 2008 gives an introduction to contemporary social science debates on the relationship between the self and self-identity, touching upon cultural theorists such as Mead and Goffman. The key early anthropological work on the category of the person is provided by Mauss 1996, which is a reproduction of the author’s 1938 seminal lecture on the person as a category of the human mind, in which he argued that the notion of the person is social and ideological. Mauss 1996 presents an evolution of the ways in which people across societies and eras have been aware of themselves, linking these to different forms of social structure. A thorough response to Mauss is provided by anthropologists, philosophers, and historians in Carrithers, et al. 1996. The contributors draw from a variety of societies to show that imaginings of identity and personhood are culturally varied, with the notion of the individual as a unique and rational figure being culturally specific. The chapters provide examples in which identity is considered to be fluid, situational, or achieved rather than innate. Similarly, Dumont 1992 contrasts the “Western” notion of the individual in India as an autonomous actor with notions of personhood, to argue that individualistic and holistic models provide two different conceptualizations of the person. Strathern 1988 draws on Melanesian societies to illustrate different forms of thinking of persons, individuals, and society through the notion of “dividuals” (also cited under Defining “Identity”). Individualism is particularly relevant to certain types of identity-related discourse. For example, Modood and Werbner 1997 suggests that the United Kingdom’s model of multiculturalism tolerates public displays of individual difference, meaning that an emphasis on individualism is central to discourses of ethnic diversity (also cited under Racism and Identity-Based Violence). Others suggest that particular aspects of modern life have mediated the model of the individual, resulting in a “crisis” of identity as the Enlightenment-style individual has been and fragmented. For more on this subject, see Hall 1992, also cited under Defining “Identity”. See also Globalization.

Carrithers, M., S. Collins, and S. Lukes, eds. 1996. The Category of the person: Anthropology, philosophy, history. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge Univ. Press.
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The edited collection includes Marcel Mauss’s seminal lecture and responses from anthropologists, philosophers, and historians, including Dumont, La Fontaine, and Godfrey Lienhardt. Examples are given from societies ranging from ancient Greece, India, and China to modern Africa and Papua New Guinea. Will appeal to anthropologists, philosophers, historians, psychologists, sociologists, and classicists.
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Dumont, L. 1992. Essays on individualism: Modern ideology in anthropological perspective. 2d ed. Chicago: Univ. of Chicago Press.
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This collection of interrelated articles written between 1952 and 1983 represents twenty years of work. Previously published in 1986 in English and in 1983 in French as Essais sur l’individualisme: Une perspective anthropologique sur l’idéologie moderne (Paris: Editions du Seuil).
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Elliott, A. 2008. Concepts of the self. 2d ed. Cambridge, UK: Polity.
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This edition provides a comprehensive and accessible introduction on the self in the social sciences, including in relation to symbolic interactionism, feminist and queer theory, postmodernism, and identity politics. Theorists covered include Mead, Freud, Goffman, Foucault, Chodorow, Zizek, and Baudrillard.
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Hall, S. 1992. “The Question of cultural identity.” In Modernity and its futures. Edited by S. Hall, D. Held, and T. McGrew, 273–325. Cambridge, UK: Polity.
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Chapter looking at the argument that old identities are in decline, fragmenting the modern individual as a unified subject and resulting in shifts in concepts of identity. Other chapters in this edited volume will also be of interest.
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Heller, T., M. Sosna, and D. Wellbery, eds. 1986. Reconstructing individualism: Autonomy, individuality and the self in Western thought. Stanford, CA: Stanford Univ. Press.
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Edited collection examining individualism, social identities, society, and the self. Contributors span disciplines and include scholars of literature, philosophy, history, and sociology. Includes a chapter by James Clifford looking at ethnographic “self-fashioning” in relation to Conrad and Malinowski.
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Mauss, M. 1996. A category of the human mind: The notion of person; The notion of self. In The category of the person: Anthropology, philosophy, history. Edited by M. Carrithers, S. Collins, and S. Lukes, 1–25. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge Univ. Press.
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English reproduction of the author’s 1938 lecture on the notion of the person, in which Mauss argues that notions of the person are social and ideological in nature. He presents an evolution from socially embedded personnage to persona, the personne, and the contemporary individual moral unit, moi. The lecture is translated from French by W. D. Halls.
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Modood, T., and P. Werbner, eds. 1997. The politics of multiculturalism in the new Europe: Racism, identity and community. London: Zed Books.
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Accessible edited volume with chapters exploring the imagining of a “new” Europe. Individualism is explored in relation to the place of ethnic and cultural minorities within Europe and the nation state. Multiculturalism is approached as a site of negotiation of difference.
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Strathern, M. 1988. The gender of the gift: The problems with women and the problems with society in Melanesia. Berkeley: Univ. of California Press.
DOI: 10.1525/california/9780520064232.001.0001Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
The book is a well-known and ambitious study of Melanesian society. Strathern argues that “Western” anthropologists and feminists have employed unexamined assumptions regarding gender relations. May prove a challenging read for undergraduates.
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Social and Cultural Identity

One of identity’s many meanings refers to notions of group belonging (see also Race and Ethnicity). In this sense, identity refers to commonalities and membership, as well as divisions and exclusion. Jenkins 2008 (also cited under General Overviews and Postmodern Identities) provides an accessible critical introduction to these topics, including the categorization of Others, the role of social power and institutions in the formation of individual self-identity, and the relationship between individual and collective identity. Social scientists have long problematized the notion of the self-sufficient individual and instead demonstrated the role of social factors in identity formation (although, for discussion of the argument that sociopolitical identities are becoming increasingly unstable, see Postmodern Identities). An early example of such work is Goffman 1959. In this first and perhaps most famous of Goffman’s books, metaphors of the theater are used to explore the performance of identity and social interaction. Cohen 2000 is an important anthropological collection looking at how relations between national, ethnic, religious, and gender groups rest upon perceptions of group identities and boundaries and includes a chapter by Fredrik Barth on boundaries as sites of group identity construction. For more on this topic, see Barth 1969. Contributors to Baumann and Gingrich 2006 examine the construction of collective identities by exploring the suggestion that identity formation and the exclusion of Others occur within the “grammars” of orientalism, segmentation, and encompassment. Much of the anthropological work on collective identity focuses on “cultural identity,” understood as identities arising from ethnic, racial, linguistic, religious, and national cultures. Despite contemporary anthropological understandings of culture as situational, political, and contested, the concept of discrete, bounded cultures remains politically and publically pervasive, especially in relation to ideas of identity. Cohen 1993 critically examines the concept of cultural identity, approaching it as the representation of persons or groups in terms of reified cultures. The article also considers the political nature of cultural identity. In examining the relationship between culture and identity, contributors to Hall and du Gay 1996 question why contemporary questions of culture so readily become highly charged ones of identity, and Michaels 1992 suggests that despite the supposed apolitical nature of the concept of cultural identity, culture remains a politicized and potentially divisive term as a result of the implicit implication of race (see Minorities, Diversity, and Identity Politics).

Barth, F. 1969. Ethnic groups and boundaries. Oslo, Norway: Bergen.
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Although criticized for being ahistorical and insufficiently acknowledging the effect of power, this is a classic book on ethnic boundaries and has been instrumental in developing a nuanced understanding of ethnicity as a situational identity. A comprehensive, theoretical introduction by Barth complements chapters rich with examples from the field.
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Baumann, G., and A. Gingrich, eds. 2006. Grammars of identity/alterity: A structural approach. 2d ed. Oxford: Berghahn.
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First published in 2004. All contributors directly engage with the suggestion that there are three grammars through which identity is constructed and Others excluded.
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Cohen, A. P. 1993. Culture as identity: An anthropologist’s view. New Literary History 24.1: 195–209.
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Article in which the British social anthropologist critically considers cultural identity, arguing that it tends to be inherently political. He also explores the links with related terms “symbol” and “ethnicity.”
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Cohen, A. P., ed. 2000. Signifying identities: Anthropological perspectives on boundaries and contested values. London: Routledge.
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Edited collection of anthropological papers examining how relationships between groups are underpinned by perceptions of their boundaries and distinct identities. Combines theoretical arguments with ethnographic examples, including those of Maori, Australian Aborigine, and Celtic identities. Will appeal to students of anthropology, human geography, sociology, and social psychology.
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Goffman, E. 1959. The presentation of self in everyday life. Edinburgh, UK: Univ. of Edinburgh Social Sciences Research Centre.
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Highly influential text, which won Goffman the American Sociological Association’s MacIver award in 1961. Uses imagery of the theater to examine social interaction and explore a performative notion of identity, in which “actors” employ front and back stages, props, and costumes in an attempt to manage the impression of “audiences.”
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Hall, S., and P. du Gay, eds. 1996. Questions of cultural identity. London: SAGE.
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Contributors question whether long-standing identities (e.g., gender, race, class, and nationality) are being replaced by fragmented new identities. Helpful introduction by Hall asking why the question of identity is so compelling and yet problematic, followed by chapters by eminent scholars interrogating various dimensions of the “crisis of identity.”
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Jenkins, R. 2008. Social identity. 3d ed. London: Routledge.
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Wide-ranging book on theories of identity in the social sciences. First published in 1996; republished in 2004 and 2008. This edition has been updated and two new chapters included (with new material on globalization and postmodern approaches to identity). Will appeal to scholars of sociology, anthropology, and social psychology.
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Michaels, W. B. 1992. Race into culture: A critical genealogy of cultural identity. Critical Inquiry 18.4: 655–685.
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Intentionally provocative critique of the concept of “cultural identity.” The author notes the difficulty of specifying what makes “our” culture count as “our own” without resorting to race. He argues that although the notion of culture is supposed to displace race, it remains implicit.
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Race and Ethnicity

A great deal has been written on identity in relation to the overlapping concepts of race and ethnicity. Although there remains a widespread public belief in the concept of races, as groups in which members exhibit shared physical and biogenetic characteristics, anthropologists and others have demonstrated that the concept is sociologically rather than biologically produced (see the AAA Statement on Race). Fanon 1967 is a seminal piece by one of the major theorists of race and identity. The book draws on psychoanalysis and psychoanalytic theory to consider processes of racism and dehumanization inherent in colonialism, and to question the subjective and psychological process of black identity formation. A later but equally influential piece on race and identity is Gilroy 2002. The book caused an uproar when first published in 1987 and remains a major contribution to race analysis in the United Kingdom and elsewhere. For more by Gilroy and other key authors, including Zygmunt Bauman, Tariq Modood, and Nira Yuval-Davis, Davison and Rutherford 2008 offers chapters on multiculturalism, British identity, belonging, cosmopolitanism, and institutional racism. There is also a burgeoning field of scholarship on “whiteness.” For example, Hartigan 2005 critically examines the “white trash” stereotype in order to explore the privilege, debasement, power, and stigma that make up white identity. An ethnographic examination of everyday negotiations and debates of race is provided by Jackson 2005, which offers a detailed look at such discourses in New York City, including in relation to police officers, mixed-race neo-Nazis, and gospel choirs. There has been a partial shift from discussion of racial identity to that of ethnic identity, or the sense of a common identity based upon perceived cultural distinctiveness, expressed in cultural characteristics such as food, language, music, and material culture (see also Social and Cultural Identity). Banks 1996 provides a comprehensive guide to the topic and summarizes the major anthropological and sociological approaches to the concept, key literature, and leading scholars. Eriksen 2002 (also cited in National Identity and Citizenship) is a key work on ethnic identity, theorizing the relationship between ethnicity and race, nation, class, and culture. Jenkins 2001 provides an anthropological examination of the role of power in the construction of ethnic identity, shifting the focus from internal processes of group identification to external processes of social categorization.

Banks, M. 1996. Ethnicity: Anthropological constructions. Abingdon, UK: Routledge.
DOI: 10.4324/9780203417935Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
Accessible, clear, and highly comprehensive book by a prominent anthropologist outlining the meaning of ethnicity and its relationship to other, related concepts, including race and nationalism. Thorough overview of the key literature and authors prior to the mid-1990s.
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Davison, S., and J. Rutherford, eds. 2008. Race, identity and belonging, A Soundings collection. London: Lawrence & Wishart.
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This first in the series of “Soundings” books brings together significant recent works on race and identity. Contributors include Zygmunt Bauman, Farhad Dalal, Paul Gilroy, Bilkis Malek, Tariq Modood, Roshi Naidoo, Amir Saeed, George Shire, Ejos Ubiribo, Patrick Wright, and Nira Yuval-Davis.
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Eriksen, T. H. 2002. Ethnicity and nationalism: Anthropological perspectives. London: Pluto.
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The book is frequently a core text on anthropology courses. First published in 1993, it was updated in 2002 to include new sections (including on transnationalism, hybridity, and globalization) and a new chapter on multiculturalism, culture, and rights. Draws from examples around the world, including Australia, France, Malaysia, and Trinidad.
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Fanon, F. 1967. Black skin, white masks. Translated by C. L. Markmann. New York: Grove.
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Fanon draws on psychoanalytic theory to explain feelings of dependency and inadequacy felt by black people in a “white world.” Originally published in French, the first version translated into English was published in 1967, but only in the 1980s did it really become considered a major contribution on race by the Anglophone world.
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Gilroy, P. 2002. There ain’t no black in the Union Jack: The cultural politics of race and nation. 2d ed. Abingdon, UK: Routledge.
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A classic book on the attitudes of British intellectuals and politicians to race. Includes material on race, class, nations, ethnic absolutism, and diaspora. The book was explosive when first published in 1987 by Unwin Hyman. The second edition, published in 2002, remains highly relevant and includes a new introduction by Gilroy.
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Hartigan, J. 2005. Odd tribes: Toward a cultural analysis of white people. Durham, NC, and London: Duke Univ. Press.
DOI: 10.1215/9780822387206Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
Hartigan examines the racial stereotype of “white trash” in order to explore the interrelation of class, gender, and race. The book demonstrates how race is not a fixed, abstract social fact, but a fluid and situational practice of racialization.
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Jackson, J. 2005. Real Black: Adventures in racial sincerity. Chicago: Univ. of Chicago Press.
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Draws on over a decade of ethnographic research in New York City, looking at how race is negotiated, defined, debated, imposed, and confounded in everyday life. Jackson develops the idea of “racial sincerity” for theorizing discourses of authenticity in racial contexts.
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Jenkins, R. 2001. Rethinking ethnicity: Arguments and explorations. London: SAGE.
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First published in 1997, with later editions in 1998 and 2001. Jenkins illustrates his theoretical discussion of the role of power and authority in the construction of ethnic identity with specific examples, to explore the real-world impacts of this social construct and the relationship between ethnicity, race, nationalism, and religion.
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National Identity and Citizenship

National identity is often experienced as a particularly strong form of identity. Poole 1999 discusses nationalism, national identity, and citizenship, arguing that the nation became a fundamental principle of social and political life in the early modern period. Poole refers to a number of key theorists, including anthropologist Ernest Gellner. Originally published in 1983, Gellner 2006 constructs a typology of nationalisms, charting an evolutionary-style development of agrarian communities into nations via industrialization. Although criticized for being simplistic and too functionalist, Gellner 2006 remains one of the most influential works on the emergence of nationalism. In the 1980s, several other anthropologists also contributed to the theorization of nationalism and national identities. For example, Anderson 2006, originally published in 1983, is a classic work on the “imagined community” of the nation, looking at the developments that led to the personal and cultural feeling of belonging to a nation. First published in the same year, Hobsbawm and Ranger 2012 explores the invention of “national culture,” traditions, and rituals. Originally written ten years after the original publication of Anderson 2006 and Hobsbawm and Ranger 2012, Eriksen 2002, also cited under Race and Ethnicity, provides insights into ethnicity and identity formation, as well as an overview of cultural, historical, and political aspects of nationalism. Also relevant is Bauman 1992, which argues that modern nations are products of nationalism, the latter presented as being an attempt by elites to capture the allegiance of the masses. Bauman 1992 discusses state-led attempts to dissolve communal identities in the uniform identity of the nation, and considers the relationship between nationalism and racism (see also Racism and Identity-Based Violence). National identity is often intertwined with the legal, moral, and emotional category of citizenship. The edited volume Lazar 2013 contains twenty-five chapters on citizenship practices, including cross-cultural examples exploring citizenship experiences and the relationship between the self and the state. Despite the ideology of citizenship being one of equal members, postcolonial and feminist scholars have shown that certain citizens are privileged over others. There is also anthropological work considering whether nation states, citizenship, and national identities are being transformed by globalization and transnationalism, for example, Ong 1999 (also cited under Globalization).

Anderson, B. 2006. Imagined communities: Reflections on the origin and spread of nationalism. London: Verso.
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First published in 1983, with new editions in 1991 and 2006. Classic and highly acclaimed monograph questioning the strength and development of national identity. Argues that printing and the birth of vernacular languages in early modern Europe were critical to creating a sense of the nation.
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Bauman, Z. 1992. Soil, blood and identity. The Sociological Review 40.4: 675–701.
DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-954X.1992.tb00407.xSave Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
Highly influential writer. This article is a good introduction to Bauman’s thinking on nations, including the strategic goals of a nationalizing project. Looks at the tension between the “inclusivist” and “exclusivist” sides to the nation-state project, and how these play out through nationalism/racism.
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Eriksen, T. H. 2002. Ethnicity and nationalism: Anthropological perspectives. London: Pluto.
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First published in 1993 and updated in 2002 to include new sections on transnationalism, hybridity, globalization, and multiculturalism. Draws on research from around the world to consider many different aspects of the nation. Chapter 6, entitled “Nationalism,” is particularly relevant. Written in an accessible style.
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Gellner, E. 2006. Nations and nationalism. 2d ed. Oxford: Blackwell.
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First published in 1983, this edition includes a preface by John Breuilly tracing changes in the field and also includes a bibliography of works on nationalism published since 1983. This accessible book has become an anthropological classic. Covers many key theorists on national identity, including Marx, Malinowski, Heidegger, and Saïd.
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Hobsbawm, E., and T. Ranger, eds. 2012. 20th ed. The invention of tradition. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge Univ. Press.
DOI: 10.1017/CBO9781107295636Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
First published in 1983. Contains seven chapters by historians and anthropologists arguing that many of the traditions making up national cultures are recent inventions. Examples include creation of Welsh “national culture” and the elaboration of British royal rituals. Accessible and easy to read.
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Lazar, S., ed. 2013. The anthropology of citizenship: A reader. Wiley Blackwell Anthologies in Social and Cultural Anthropology. Oxford: Wiley Blackwell.
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Twenty-five chapters looking at contemporary citizenship debates at the local, national, and global levels. Key readings provide the theoretical foundation to citizenship and offers cross-cultural examples of citizenship practices, particularly in relation to education, law, development, and immigration policy.
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Ong, A. 1999. Flexible citizenship: The cultural logics of transnationality. Durham, NC: Duke Univ. Press.
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Looks at the impact of globalization on nation states, drawing on ethnography in the Asia-Pacific region and structural analysis to develop the concept of “flexible citizenship.” Ong discusses globalization, transnationalism, and migration. Will appeal to those in anthropology, globalization studies, postcolonial studies, history, Asian studies, Marxist theory, and cultural studies.
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Poole, R. 1999. Nation and identity. London: Routledge.
DOI: 10.4324/9780203209158Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
Concise and comprehensive book by a political philosopher. Looks at various faces of national identity, from the early theorists of nationalism (such as Johann Gottlieb Herder [b. 1744–d. 1803]), to contemporary issues, including indigenous rights, multiculturalism, and the possible end of nationalism.
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Colonial and Postcolonial Identities

Questions regarding colonial and postcolonial identities intersect with a number of related issues, including transnationalism, the rights of indigenous people, and the relationship between minorities and the state (see Minorities, Diversity, and Identity Politics and Transnationalism and Diasporic Identities). Fanon 2001 is a classic text of one of the leading anti-colonialist thinkers of the 20th century. Drawing from psychology, the piece examines the traumatic effects of colonization and addresses the use of language and the establishment of imperialist identities, like “colonizer” and “colonized,” in molding people into colonial roles, such as “slaves” and “masters.” A particular area of debate regarding colonialism and identity entails questions of authenticity and representation. Saïd 1978 remains crucial to these debates, describing the cultural (mis)representation of “the Orient” by the “Western” world, including the long tradition of romanticized images of Asia and of the Middle East. Questions of representation are not only relevant to colonialism but also remain pertinent to what is known as “postcolonialism.” For example, Bhabha 2000 critically examines representation and Orientalism in the context of postcolonial identities, placing them in the context of two discourses of identity: the philosophical tradition of identity as self-reflection, and the anthropological view of differences of human identity between social contexts. For further illustration of these issues, Chakrabarty 1992 looks at the representation of Indian identities in the colonial period through an analysis of postcoloniality, and Banks 2013 anthropologically addresses the repatriation claims for Tasmanian human remains from European museums. Postcolonialism is a contested subject, a point that is evident in disagreement over the distinction between the colonial and postcolonial. To explore this further, see Radhakrishnan 1993, which critically engages with the term postcoloniality in order to examine the boundaries of identity and structures of political hierarchy that remain. In so doing, Radhakrishnan 1993 touches upon authenticity, self-identification and identity (including national identity), diaspora identities, and relational ethnicities such as “African-American.”

Banks, M. 2013. Post-authenticity: Dilemmas of identity in the 20th and 21st centuries. Anthropological Quarterly 86.2: 481–500.
DOI: 10.1353/anq.2013.0018Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
Anthropological article drawing on negotiations of the Tasmanian Aboriginal groups for recognition of their status as authentic Aborigines, in order to examine the competing claims to authorship of India’s filmic heritage and contemporary debates concerning the authenticity of identity.
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Bhabha, H. 2000. Interrogating identity: The postcolonial prerogative. In Identity: A reader. Edited by P. du Gay, J. Evans, and P. Redman, 94–101. London: SAGE.
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Bhabha is considered a leading postcolonial theorist. This (short) chapter is a reproduced version of his 1990 chapter by the same title, published in the volume Anatomy of Racism. edited by D. Goldberg (Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1990).
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Chakrabarty, D. 1992. Postcoloniality and the artifice of history: Who speaks for “Indian” pasts? Representations 37:1–26.
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Chakrabarty problematizes the idea of representation and production of histories, arguing that although it is suggested that postcolonial grouping such as “Indians” and “Chinese” are now representing themselves, these histories remain variations of a European narrative, relegating them to a position of subalternity.
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Fanon, F. 2001. The wretched of the earth. Translated by C. Farrington. London: Penguin.
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First published in French in 1961 during the Algerian war for independence and has since been translated into many languages. This edition inclues an introduction by the philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre criticizing French colonialism. The book has long inspired anti-colonial movements.
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Radhakrishnan, R. 1993. Postcoloniality and the boundaries of identity. Callaloo 16.4: 750–771.
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Article critically questioning the term “postcoloniality” and the power relations it encompasses. Addresses identity struggles and self-identification in countries such as India that were once colonies.
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Saïd, E. W. 1978. Orientalism. New York: Vintage.
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First publicized in 1978, this classic book is considered a foundational text for the field of postcolonial studies. Focused on Eurocentric representations of the Middle East.
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Racism and Identity-Based Violence

Identity-based debates are often bound up in forms of conflict, from racism and xenophobia to warfare and violent struggles for self-determination. A comprehensive introduction is provided by the edited collection Peacock, et al. 2007, which brings together scholars from across disciplines working on conflict and identity in a range of countries and contexts. The chapters include analysis of sectarian, ethnic, and cultural identity-based conflicts and seek to understand the relationship between identity and conflict, starting from the basis that the main approaches taken in the literature are inadequate to explain real-world examples. The relationship between nationalism, communal identities, and racism is powerfully explored in Bauman 1992. Written by a French philosopher and an American historian and sociologist, Balibar and Wallerstein 1991 takes a rather different approach to racism than that of Bauman 1992, arguing that it is not is not a continuation of past xenophobia, but a modern social relation tied to present social structures such as the nation state and class struggle. Several other scholars have also grounded identity-based conflict in the context of modern societies (see Minorities, Diversity, and Identity Politics). For example, Delanty, et al. 2008 considers the rise of “new kinds” of racism in Europe, including the increasing hostility toward migrants and asylum seekers. Kymlicka 1997 (also cited under Minorities, Diversity, and Identity Politics) was born out of what the editor has described as one of the greatest challenges facing democracies today: the upsurge of ethnic and national conflict in the 1990s. In addition to Kymlicka’s introduction, the volume includes several chapters on identity-based political conflict. Werbner and Modood 1997 also looks at identity and racism in relation to diversity and multiculturalism. This volume examines how racism threatens multiculturalism and createspathological cultural hybrids whilst Modood and Werbner 1997 (also cited under Personhood, Self, and the Individual) grounds these issues in specific European examples.

Balibar, E., and I. Wallerstein, eds. 1991. Race, nation, class: Ambiguous identities. London: Verso.
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Innovative book of thirteen chapters arranged as a dialogue between the French philosopher Etienne Balibar and the American historian and sociologist Immanuel Wallerstein. The authors argue that racism is a modern phenomenon and growing in scale.
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Bauman, Z. 1992. Soil, blood and identity. Sociological Review 40.4: 675–701.
DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-954X.1992.tb00407.xSave Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
Important article by this eminent Polish sociologist. The article looks at nationalism, communal identities, and racism. Bauman argues that there is always a tension between the “inclusivist” and “exclusivist” prongs of nationalism, resulting in an inevitable link between nationalism and racism.
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Delanty, G., R. Wodak, and P. Jones, eds. 2008. Identity, belonging and migration. Edited by G. Delanty, Studies in Social and Political Thought. Liverpool, UK: Liverpool Univ. Press.
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Edited book looking at the rise of new kinds of racism in European societies. Includes helpful introduction by Gerard Delanty, Paul Jones, and Ruth Wodak on these issues in a European context.
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Kymlicka, W., ed. 1997. The rights of minority cultures. Oxford: Oxford Univ. Press.
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Seventeen essays on multiculturalism by leading social theorists and philosophers. There are several chapters on identity-based conflict, including those by Bhikhu Parekh and the philosopher Iris Young. Book will be useful to those new to the topics as well as experienced scholars.
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Modood, T., and P. Werbner, eds. 1997. The politics of multiculturalism in the new Europe: Racism, identity and community. London: Zed Books.
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Edited book, focusing on the reimaging and remaking of Europe as a supranational community, and presenting multiculturalism as the political outcome of power struggles and negotiation of cultural, ethnic, and racial differences. Asks how multiculturalism has been theorized as a solution to the “problem” of minorities and struggles for recognition.
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Peacock, J. L., P. M. Thornton, and P. B. Inman, eds. 2007. Identity matters: Ethnic and sectarian conflict. Oxford: Berghahn.
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Chapters by cross-disciplinary scholars working on conflict and identity across the world. Thornton’s introduction includes an overview of the common approaches taken to identity-based conflict: that of the primordialists and the instrumentalists. The contributors question the relationship between group identity and conflict, and explore solutions to such violence.
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Werbner, P., and T. Modood, eds. 1997. Debating cultural hybridity: Multi-cultural identities and the politics of anti-racism. London: Zed Books.
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Groundbreaking book on anti-racism and multiculturalism by leading sociologists and anthropologists, including Nira Yuval-Davis and Zygmunt Bauman. Authors critically examine the term “cultural hybridity” in the context of identity, racism, and difference to examine why anti-racism and multiculturalism can be problematic paths. Issues covered include globalization, gender, and whiteness.
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Gender and Sexual Identity

Scholars interested in gender-based identity often begin with de Beauvoir 1952, a major work of feminist theory, in which the categories “woman” and “feminine” are critically questioned and shown to be socially produced, rather than naturally occurring. De Beauvoir’s work has since been advanced by other key feminist theorists. Like de Beauvoir, the author of Butler 2010 challenges the idea of naturalized or culturally fixed gender identity, instead developing the idea of gender as social performance. Butler 2010 was controversial when first published in 1990 because of its questioning of the category of “woman” as source of common identity, and argument that traditional feminism is flawed in its presentation of a natural, universal notion of the female. Another important work is the edited volume Reiter 1975, which not only presents insights into sexual (in)equality across various societies, but challenges the androcentric basis of 20th-century anthropology, by insisting that women’s perspectives and feminist critiques be incorporated into the discipline. Rosaldo and Lamphere 1974 is also considered a pioneering work of the 1970s, again challenging the disciplinary tendency of 20th-century anthropology to prioritize the perspective of men. Work on women’s identity has more recently been complemented by research explicitly looking at the formation and negotiation of men’s identities. Famously, Connell 2005 criticizes the idea of a single masculine identity, arguing that there are many different forms of masculinity, each with associations of power and politics. Social scientists have also written on sexed and sexual identities. A key contributor to gender and queer studies is the philosopher Michel Foucault, whose controversial three-volume series The History of Sexuality looked at the development of sexuality in the Western world and argued that in the 18th and 19th centuries, people’s identities became increasingly tied to their sexuality. The first volume, Foucault 1998, describes the process of making a “science” of sex, including the classification of different “types” of sexuality. Moore 1994 considers the interplay between identity, gender, and sexuality, including by considering bodily practices, domestic spaces, and feminist debates on the body. Anthropologists have also looked at sex as identity, practice, and experience, including recent work exploring the cultural context of sexuality (Donnan and Magowan 2010).

Beauvoir, S. de. 1952. The Second Sex. Translated by H. M. Parshley. 2 vols. New York: Random House.
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One of de Beauvoir’s best-known books. First published in 1949, it is regarded as a major contribution to feminist philosophy and integral to the second wave of feminism. There are a number of translations and different editions.
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Butler, J. 2010. Gender trouble: Feminism and the subversion of identity. 6th ed. Abingdon, UK: Routledge.
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Highly acclaimed and provocative work that critically engages with traditional feminism. First published in 1990, it has had a number of later editions. Includes material on sex, gender, desire, language, power, and the heterosexual matrix, and refers to Lacan, Freud, Foucault, and Monique Wittig.
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Connell, R. W. 2005. Masculinities. 2d ed. Cambridge, UK: Polity.
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This was a groundbreaking book on the creation of masculine identities when first published in 1995. This edition includes a new introduction and conclusion, in which Connell considers the development of masculinity studies and theories. Easily accessible for students across the humanities and social sciences.
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Donnan, H., and F. Magowan. 2010. The anthropology of sex. Oxford: Berg.
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Book drawing on the comparative field research of anthropologists to examine sex as identity and experience. It breaks new ground in critically synthesizing over a century of comparative knowledge on a range of sexual forms.
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Foucault, M. 1998. The history of sexuality: The will to knowledge. Vol. 1. London: Penguin.
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There have been many editions and translations of the three volumes. Volume one, The Will to Knowledge (La volonté de savoir), was first published in French (Éditions Gallimard, 1976) and in English (London: Allen Lane, 1978). The following two volumes, which consider sex in Greek and Roman antiquity, were both published in 1984 in French and shortly after in English.
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Moore, H. 1994. A passion for difference: Essays in anthropology and gender. Cambridge, UK: Polity.
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Collection of essays looking at the anthropological contribution to sex, gender, and sexuality. Essays include discussion of gender, identity, and violence, as well as the construction of domestic space and its relationship to bodily practices.
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Reiter, R., ed. 1975. Towards an anthropology of women. London and New York: Monthly Review Press.
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A collection of chapters exploring different aspects of sexual inequality, offering feminist perspectives on human evolution, the origin of the family, and the role of women in different cultures. Is designed to present a challenge to traditional 20th-century anthropology, which had a methodological and ideological bias toward men.
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Rosaldo, M., and L. Lamphere, eds. 1974. Woman, culture and society. Stanford, CA: Stanford Univ. Press.
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Chapters by sixteen female anthropologists analyzing the place of women in various societies. Themes covered include the common phenomenon of human sexual asymmetry, and strategies by which women seek political power and social recognition. By questioning assumptions, the volume challenges the discipline’s previous tendency to silence the perspectives of women.
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Language and Identity

Identity is intimately connected to language, with language and communication being both reflective of, and constructive of, individual subjectivities. Several 20th-century anthropologists made comparisons between the structure of language and “grammar” of society. For example, Lévi-Strauss 1967 borrows the idea of distinctive features and rules, including binary opposites, from structural linguistics in order to examine the “deep structures” organizing human behavior and social lives. The relationship between language and culture has also long interested anthropologists, who have explored not only the content of verbal and written language, but also the performance and ritual of communication, and the ways in which language mediates and reproduces identities. Goffman 1981 is a classic work outlining various different roles of “speakers” and “hearers” in verbal exchanges, distinguishing between “ratified hearers” and the “non-ratified,” the latter including those listening intentionally (eavesdroppers) and unintentionally (overhearers). Bourdieu 2005 similarly presents language as inextricably based in, and constitutive of, social context, describing language as a technology of power, with an individual’s position in society influencing his or her use of language, and vice versa. Duranti, et al. 2001 is a sociocultural study of how children learn language, arguing that language acquisition is a culturally specific practice through which children are socialized as group members. The classic anthropological study of language and class, Milroy and Milroy 1978, looks at the rise of the urban vernacular in Belfast, whilst Gal 1978 charts the gendered dimension of language shifts. Exploring a bilingual community, Gal argues that speech choices are part of people’s presentation of self, and therefore are inextricable from one’s social position. For work on minority language rights and the importance of language recognition in the politics of identity, see Urciuoli 1996. This ethnography illustrates the linguistic judgments made against New York Puerto Ricans, through which racial and class-based prejudices are made manifest, and structural forms of socioeconomic discrimination obscured. Zentella 2002 also draws from Latino populations in the United States, to examine how (hybrid) identity is interlinked with linguistic varieties of Spanish and “Spanglish.” As the author shows, in some contexts an individual’s use of a particular variety of Spanish marks out specific national-origin identities, whilst in other contexts, the common Spanish language is used to homogenize people.

Bourdieu, P. 2005. Language and symbolic power. Translated by Gino Raymond. Cambridge, UK: Polity.
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The volume brings together Bourdieu’s writings on the relationship between language and power, from the influence of everyday social status, such as one’s class position, to the realm of political performance. Bourdieu critiques traditional approaches to language, including the theories of Saussure and Chomsky
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Duranti, A., E. Ochs, and B. Schieffelin, eds. 2001. The handbook of language socialization. Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell.
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Edited by three anthropologists, this 680-page reference work contains twenty-seven chapters by scholars of anthropology, education, applied linguistics, and human development. Covers the life span and a multitude of countries and settings, from families and schools, to work and religious spaces. Touches upon contemporary issues such as media socialization.
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Gal, S. 1978. Peasant men can’t get wives: Language change and sex roles in a bilingual community. Language in Society 7.1: 1–16.
DOI: 10.1017/S0047404500005303Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
Ethnographic study of a German-Hungarian bilingual community, demonstrating that young women were quickest to alter their language choices. Shows how the use of language in presentation of self is gendered in nature and has implications for marriage patterns.
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Goffman, E. 1981. Footing. In Forms of talk. By E. Goffman, 124–159. Philadelphia: Univ. of Pennsylvania Press.
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First published in 1979 in the journal Semiotica, this chapter articulates various types of “speaker” and “hearer” roles involved in the “footing” of a communicative interaction. The other four socio-linguistic essays in the volume may also be of interest.
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Lévi-Strauss, C. 1967. Structural anthropology. Translated by Claire Jacobson and Brooke Grundfest Schoepf. New York: Doubleday Anchor.
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Here Lévi-Strauss details his argument that all cultures have immutable set structures. Draws on Hegel, Ferdinand de Saussure, Roman Jakobson, Émile Durkheim, and Marcel Mauss, to consider the “deep grammar” of cultures and the role of binary opposites in structuring social practices.
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Milroy, J., and L. Milroy. 1978. Belfast: Change and variation in an urban vernacular. In Sociolinguistic patterns in British English. Edited by P. Trudgill, 19–36. London: E. Arnold.
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Chapter considers social networks and linguistic variation in the Irish city of Belfast in the 1970s. This classic work on language and class explores the use of urban vernacular and considers how social variation, such as age, gender, and geography, affects phonology.
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Urciuoli, B. 1996. Exposing prejudice: Puerto Rican experiences of language, race and class. Boulder, CO: Westview.
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Ethnography by a linguistic anthropologist, looking at how language use is employed to assign class and race to members of a minority group. New York Puerto Ricans using Spanish are told that their English is “impure” or “broken,” with socioeconomic problems thereby framed as linguistic in cause and remedy.
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Zentella, A. 2002. Latin@ languages and identities. In Latinos: Remaking America. Edited by M. Suárez-Orozco and M. Páez, 321–338. Berkeley: Univ. of California Press.
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Chapter looks at the use of different varieties of Spanish by different Latin groups to enact and reinforce hybrid identities. Readers may also be interested in other chapters in this comprehensive volume on US Latino populations, including those chapters on language by psycholinguist Barbara Pearson and educational researcher Patricia Gándara.
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Mobility and Migration

A considerable amount has been written by anthropologists on the impact of mobility and border crossing on identity formation, negotiation, and reproduction (see also Transnationalism and Diasporic Identities). Global movement is often said to be a characteristic of contemporary life, whether through conflict, migration, tourism, or global markets (see Globalization). These issues are explored in Chambers 1994, which considers how migration relates to our sense of place and identity, and how mobility (with its associations of diversity and marginality) disrupts the “West’s” faith in linear progress and challenges its sense of place, culture, and identity. Rapport and Dawson 1998 continues the discussion, looking at how mobility affects “traditional” conceptions of individuals as members of fixed, stationary societies, and to what extent movement becomes central to self-identity, creating “migrants of identity,” whose home is movement. For an ethnographic exploration of these issues, Rouse 1991 draws on work with rural Mexicans involved in migration to and from the United States, to provide an anthropological account of the ways in which mobility leads to fragmented, multilayered, and fluid identities. There is also a body of anthropological work on the impact of forced displacement on identity management and changing notions of belonging and group identity. Malkki 1995, the now classic ethnographic work on Burundian refugees living in two different communities in Tanzania, demonstrates how constructed narratives of dispossession and violence are employed to (re)construct identities, including through elaborate “mythico-histories.” Colson 2003 also provides an anthropological study of forced migration, showing how such movement can prompt processes of labeling, identity management, and myth making, producing new diasporas and boundaries. The literature on international boundaries also has relevance for identity formation and negotiation. Donnan and Wilson 1999, on the relationship between identity, borders, and states, approaches international borders as representing demarcations between nations and peoples, as providing windows into national and cultural identities, and as shaping identities of the “self” and “other.” Related to this approach is research questioning the impact of immigration policies and administrative practices on shaping migrant and citizen identities. For example, Mountz, et al. 2002 looks at how immigration policy and refugee policy in the United States work to discipline the lives of noncitizens and thereby shape immigrant identities. The article demonstrates that policy shifts, through the prism of immigration categorization, result in the renegotiation of asylum applicants’ identities.

Chambers, I. 1994. Migrancy, culture, identity. London: Routledge.
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Book looking at how migration has disturbed ideas of history, culture, and identity and, by extension, ideas about linear progress and rational thinking. The author covers a range of issues and perspectives, from anthropology to history, computers to World Music.
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Colson, E. 2003. Forced migration and the anthropological response. Journal of Refugee Studies 16.1: 1–18.
DOI: 10.1093/jrs/16.1.1Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
Anthropological look at refugees and forced displacement in relation to identity formation, labeling, and negotiation, including in relation to diaspora. Colson sees differences in these processes, depending upon whether people resettle by using their existing resources or are managed by outside organizations.
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Donnan, H., and T. Wilson. 1999. Borders: Frontiers of identity, nation and state. Oxford: Berg.
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The authors offer an overview of borders, arguing that they are critical to the construction of national identities. They use examples from the United States, Mexico, Northern Ireland, Israel, Palestine, Spain, Southeast Asia, and Africa. Useful text for students in anthropology, sociology, political science, geography, nationalism, and immigration studies.
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Malkki, L. 1995. Purity and exile: Violence, memory and national cosmology among Hutu refugees in Tanzania. Chicago: Univ. of Chicago Press.
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Key and accessible text on the anthropology of forced movement. Draws from ethnographic fieldwork amongst two refugee communities in Tanzania, to consider how Hutu refugees driven from Burundi produced narratives of their dispossession and how these experiences were used in identity formation.
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Mountz, A., R. Wright, I. Miyares, and A. J. Bailey. 2002. Lives in limbo: Temporary Protected Status and immigrant identities. Global Networks 2.4: 335–356.
DOI: 10.1111/1471-0374.00044Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
Article on the United States’ immigration and refugee policy and how they affect immigrant identities, drawing on Salvadoran asylum applicants and the application of Temporary Protected Status.
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Rapport, N., and A. Dawson, eds. 1998. Migrants of identity: Perceptions of home in a world of movement. Oxford: Berg.
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The authors draw on case studies of travelers, labor migrants, exiles, and commuters to look at how mobility affects identity, suggesting that “traditional” models of individuals as members of discrete, stationary cultures are being replaced by the idea of “migrants of identity.”
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Rouse, R. 1991. Mexican migration and the social space of postmodernism. Diaspora: A Journal of Transnational Studies 1.1: 8–23.
DOI: 10.1353/dsp.1991.0011Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
Draws on ethnographic work with rural Mexicans involved in migration to consider the impact of mobility on identity. Argues that conventional images used to map migrants’ lives, such as the metaphor of “community,” are inadequate, and calls for new imagery, such as that of “circuits.”
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Transnationalism and Diasporic Identities

Identity construction and negotiation often arise in research focused on diasporic groups and supranational ties, concepts that invoke ideas around authenticity, belonging, and heritage. Clifford 1994 provides a good overview of the diaspora field, in which work on diaspora is surveyed, the political and intellectual implications of the concept investigated, and difficulties of defining the term discussed. Vertovec 2001 is a helpful introduction to the interplay and juxtaposition of transnationalism and identity, and of perceptions of common identity in social worlds that span more than one place. Hannerz 1996 (also cited under Globalization) offers a good way into the topic, exploring the effect of mobility, globalization and long-distance connections on forms of identity and notions of “local,” “nation,” and “community.” A compelling introduction to the relationship between diaspora and identity is Gilroy 2007 (also cited under Defining “Identity”), which draws from diaspora to consider representation (of both sameness and difference) and the enduring appeal of essentialist identities. Gilroy 1993 also addresses these issues, looking in depth at diverse black diaspora culture in order to explore the relationships between diaspora and identity, demonstrating the impossibility of reducing black diaspora to any single national or ethnic identity. Diasporic claims tend to be framed through notions of collective identity. For example, Fortier 2000 uses ethnographic work with Italian migrants in the United Kingdom to analyze the “Italian identity project,” in which community leaders seek to strengthen a visible sense of Italian identity. In so doing, Fortier critically examines the identity narratives through which a sense of belonging is formed. The chapters in Levitt and Waters 2002 consider the transnational practices of “second generation” migrants, exploring how host- and home-country value systems affect identity formation, and how these values relate to gender, country of origin, and life stage. Lavie and Swedenburg 1996 examines transnational and diasporic practices in order to challenge the idea of nations and cultures as bounded and discrete, and to acknowledge the complexity and hybridity of identities.

Clifford, J. 1994. Diasporas. Cultural Anthropology 9.3: 302–338.
DOI: 10.1525/can.1994.9.3.02a00040Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
Good overview of work on diaspora, surveying existing work and interrogating the concept for its political and intellectual implications. Uses a variety of examples to illustrate the arguments, including black Britons, (anti-Zionist) Judaism, and the United States. Critically engages with multiple relevant authors, including Gilroy, Bhabha, and Mercer.
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Fortier, A.-M. 2000. Migrant belongings: Memory, space, identity. Oxford: Berg.
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Considers the identity narratives and senses of belonging experienced by Italian migrants in Britain since 1975. Draws on a range of material, including the historical, political, religious, and performative in order to combine an empirical study with wider theoretical debates on identity.
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Gilroy, P. 1993. The Black Atlantic: Modernity and double consciousness. Cambridge, MA: Harvard Univ. Press.
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Important contribution to anthropologists working on African diaspora across the world. Six linked essays on black intellectual history provide an in-depth historical investigation into diverse forms of black diaspora. In addition to examining the UK context, Gilroy decenters African American narratives by recognizing the role of Caribbean and European movements.
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Gilroy, P. 2007. Diaspora and the detours of identity. In Identity and difference. Edited by K. Woodward, 299–346. London: SAGE.
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Final chapter of an accessible introductory text. Gilroy focuses on social and political aspects of identity, discussing the appeal of essentialist approaches to identity and the problematic nature of ideas of fixed identity. As the concluding chapter of the book, it returns to earlier themes and pushes forward the broader arguments.
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Hannerz, U. 1996. Transnational connections: Culture, people, places. London: Routledge.
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Diverse selection of essays on globalization and transnationalism, and the implications of these factors for cultural identities. Rather than present a single argument, the author offers a series of interrelated arguments, based upon a multitude of ethnographic examples.
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Lavie, S., and T. Swedenburg. 1996. Introduction: Displacement, diaspora, and geographies of identity. In Displacements, diaspora, and geographies of identity. Edited by S. Lavie and T. Swedenburg, 1–25. Durham, NC: Duke Univ. Press.
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The introduction to this edited collection critically examines conventional understandings of identity based on notions of bounded cultures. Other chapters, from anthropology and related fields, are also helpful. Will be of interest to scholars and students working on postmodern and postcolonial theory, ethnography, anthropology, and cultural studies.
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Levitt, P., and M. C. Waters, eds. 2002. The changing face of home: The transnational lives of the second generation. New York: Russell Sage Foundation.
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This is one of the first books to have examined the extent to which the children of migrants engage in the transnational practices of their parents. Chapters explore variations in practice according to gender, country of origin, and life stage, and how home- and host-country value systems shape identity construction.
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Vertovec, S. 2001. Transnationalism and identity. Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies 27.4: 573–582.
DOI: 10.1080/13691830120090386Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
Accessible introduction on the relationship between transnationalism and identity. Other articles in this themed issue of JEMS are also useful on how transnational dynamics affect the construction, negotiation, and reproduction of identities.
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Globalization

There is a considerable body of literature on the impact of “globalization” on individual, cultural, and national identities. Hall, et al. 1992 is a useful introductory textbook on the impact of globalization on identities, senses of the self, and cultural belonging. There are competing claims as to whether globalization fragments or homogenizes identities. For example, Hannerz 1996 (also cited under Transnationalism and Diasporic Identities) suggests that globalization is leading to a “creolizing” of identities. Lowenthal 1992 discusses the suggestion that globalization will destroy identities and undermine the nation state, whilst Bayart 2007 argues that globalization establishes new networks and solidarities, such as new sexual identities created through media representation of male and female bodies. Taking a different approach, Ong 1999 (also cited under National Identity and Citizenship) draws on ethnography conducted in Asia-Pacific to examine the impact of globalization on nation states and transnational identities. Ong demonstrates that transnational subjects symbolize the tension between national and personal identities, creating new forms of social relations. Parekh 2008 also interrogates the impacts of globalization on collective, religious, and national identities, using this discussion to advocate a globally orientated citizenship based on principles of common humanity. It has been noted that in parallel to greater global interconnectedness, there is an upsurge of local acts of self-identification. The anthropological contributions to Campbell and Rew 1999 explore this conundrum, concluding that it cannot be explained by global/local binaries and that theorists should instead use the analysis of identity formation as an organizing principle of research and explanation.

Bayart, J.-F. 2007. Global subjects: A political critique of globalization. Cambridge, UK: Polity.
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Refreshing account of globalization that challenges interpretations made by both neo-liberals and the anti-globalization movement. Includes discussion about globalization and sexual/gender identities.
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Campbell, J., and A. Rew, eds. 1999. Identity and affect: Experiences of identity in a globalising world. London: Pluto.
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Contributors are all anthropologists, using the concept of identity and drawing from ethnographic case studies of South Asian, East African, Melanesian, and European societies, to go beyond global/local frame. Includes chapters that touch on the effects of colonialism on identity formation and on diasporic belonging.
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Hall, S., D. Held, and T. McGrew, eds. 1992. Modernity and its futures. Understanding Modern Societies series. Cambridge, UK: Polity.
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Part of the Open University series. Chapters in this introductory textbook cover the transformation of Eastern Europe, collapse of USSR, environmental challenges, and post-industrialism. Each includes a reading from a major social theorist, questions, and exercises. Aimed at social science students, including those with no prior knowledge of the subject.
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Hannerz, U. 1996. Transnational connections: Culture, people, places. London: Routledge.
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Provides an account of culture in an age of globalization, addressing debates on culture and globalization. This book summarizes much of Hannerz’s work in this area, through a collection of diverse essays on concepts of “the local,” “community,” “nation,” and “modernity.”
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Lowenthal, D. 1992. The death of the future. In Contemporary futures: Perspectives from social anthropology. Edited by S. Wallman, 23–35. London: Routledge.
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Chapter on the presentation of globalization as a force that will lead to alienation and social disintegration. All contributors to the book are social anthropologists, looking at how people picture the future and how this image affects group identity.
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Ong, A. 1999. Flexible citizenship: The cultural logics of transnationality. Durham, NC: Duke Univ. Press.
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Pioneering book that develops the idea of “flexible citizenship” and combines ethnography and structural analysis in order to explore the impacts of globalization. Will appeal to those in anthropology, globalization studies, postcolonial studies, history, Asian studies, and cultural studies.
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Parekh, B. 2008. A new politics of identity: Political principles for an interdependent world. Basingstoke, UK: Palgrave Macmillan.
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Book questioning the impact of globalization on ethnic, religious, and national identities. Chapters discuss the concept of identity, national identity, multiculturalism, religious identity, and the principles of global ethics. Includes discussion of European liberalism, Canadian national identity, the “Muslim question,” and US cultural hegemony.
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Minorities, Diversity, and Identity Politics

Responses to migration and postcolonialism (see Mobility and Migration and Transnationalism and Diasporic Identities), coupled with concerns that globalization will homogenize identity (see Globalization) and calls for the recognition of minority groups, have led to vigorous debates about diversity, the place of minorities within the nation state, and the impacts of these factors on national identity. Various political discourses have emerged from such debates, including those of multiculturalism and cosmopolitanism. The former is an ambiguous and contested term, generally taken to refer to tolerance and recognition of difference. Kymlicka 1997 provides one of the first collections of thinking on multiculturalism (also cited under Racism and Identity-Based Violence). Modood 2010 focuses on race relations in Britain from the 1980s onward in order to examine the relationship between multiculturalism, national identity, racism, and citizenship, and the changing place of ethnic minorities within the (British) national order. The introduction to a pertinent special issue of the journal Ethnic and Racial Studies, Vertovec 2007, calls on anthropologists working on ethnicity and migration to engage with and develop theories of multiculturalism. The multidisciplinary book Vertovec and Cohen 2002 covers a broad set of perspectives on the related concept of cosmopolitanism, namely, the idea that people from different places can come together to form a single community, based on shared morality or respect. The book discusses multiple identities, transnational minorities, and political belonging. Related to these debates regarding diversity is the emergence of social movements from the 1970s onward, calling not for equality, but for recognition of difference. Known as “identity politics,” they were influenced by feminism, civil rights movements, multiculturalism, and postcolonialism, and they employed notions of group identity based on identifiers such as race, ethnicity, gender, and sexuality. A helpful introduction to these issues is presented by the edited volume Calhoun 1994, which includes chapters considering new social movements in the second half of the 20th century. There have been multiple criticisms of identity politics, particularly in regards to the tension between the universal and particular, and on how difference should be recognized. It has been argued, for example, that identity politics risk reinforcing difference, including identities that were produced through discrimination (see Scott 1995). A particularly contentious aspect of identity politics calls for collective rights, such as rights to development or self-determination. Gutmann 1994 outlines the debate, namely, that collective rights could protect minority cultures, but that such rights might be incompatible with liberal democratic principles. The collection includes a famous essay by philosopher Charles Taylor arguing for a “politics of difference” and a critical response by Jürgen Habermas suggesting that collective rights risk fixing identities. The argument that collective rights might violate individual freedom is made by Chandran Kukathas in his chapter in Kymlicka 1997 (also cited under Racism and Identity-Based Violence), a volume that offers a comprehensive selection of arguments on both sides of the debate. These issues are brought together in Thompson 1997, an article that outlines the debate on collective rights and calls for anthropologists to give these issues greater attention.

Calhoun, C., ed. 1994. Social theory and the politics of identity. Oxford: Blackwell.
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Volume looking at the new social movements of the postwar era and the promotion of marginalized identities as a site of political struggle. Contributors link these developments with discussion of the role of social theory and seek to make sense of difference within social theory, as well within wider society.
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Gutmann, A., ed. 1994. Multiculturalism: Examining the politics of recognition. Princeton, NJ: Princeton Univ. Press.
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Expanded edition of a book originally released by the same publisher in 1992, entitled Multiculturalism and “The Politics of Recognition.” It reproduces Taylor’s famous lecture at Princeton, which is followed by three comment pieces. There are also essays by Habermas on recognition and democracy, and by K. Anthony Appiah on identity and multiculturalism.
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Kymlicka, W., ed. 1997. The rights of minority cultures. Oxford: Oxford Univ. Press.
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Includes seventeen essays on multiculturalism, collective rights, diversity, and recognition of difference. The introduction gives an overview of the topic and a guide to further reading. Other chapters include the background, different forms of cultural pluralism, and several chapters on individual and group rights. Particularly useful to those new to the topics.
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Modood, T. 2010. Still not easy being British: Struggles for a multicultural citizenship. London: Trentham.
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This builds on Modood’s book Not Easy Being British: Colour, Culture and Citizenship (London: Runnymede Trust, 1992), which was one of the first works to chart shifts in British race relations in the late 1980s and the impacts on concepts of Britishness. These issues are reconsidered in light of developments in multiculturalism, Muslim politics, and discourses of Britishness.
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Scott, J. 1995. Multiculturalism and the politics of identity. In The identity in question. Edited by J. Rajchman, 3–12. New York: Routledge.
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Chapter by an American historian best known for her work on gender history. The chapter reprinted in this collection was first available in 1992. Scott argues that postmodern thought had been that difference should be deconstructed and categories of identity recognized as being socially produced rather than reflecting natural distinctions.
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Thompson, R. 1997. Ethnic minorities and the case for collective rights. American Anthropologist 99.4: 786–798.
DOI: 10.1525/aa.1997.99.4.786Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
The article helpfully summarizes the debate on collective rights for anthropologists. Thompson is an advocate of such rights and encourages anthropologists to give them greater attention, given the frequency with which they work with minority groups.
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Vertovec, S. 2007. Introduction: New directions in the anthropology of migration and multiculturalism. Special issue: New directions in the anthropology of migration and multiculturalism. Edited by Steve Vertovec. Ethnic and Racial Studies 30.6: 961–978.
DOI: 10.1080/01419870701599416Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
In the introduction to the special edition, Vertovec suggests ways in which anthropologists could approach multiculturalism. Other articles in the edition are also relevant, including several that provide detailed case studies of the negotiations of minority identities within dominant cultures.
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Vertovec, S., and R. Cohen, eds. 2002. Conceiving cosmopolitanism: Theory, context and practice. Oxford: Oxford Univ. Press.
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Collection of chapters by eminent scholars, discussing the nature of cosmopolitanism across disciplines and cultures. Includes chapters by Stuart Hall, David Held, Ulrich Beck, and Craig Calhoun, on subjects including multiple identities, class and travel, new forms of political belonging, transnational minorities, hybridization, and organized violence.
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Postmodern Identities

There is a commonly held belief that in the past, people had coherent, singular identities that remained stable across contexts and lifetimes (see Personhood, Self, and the Individual). In contrast, the “postmodern subject” is portrayed as an amalgam of a multitude of unstable and fluid selves that vary between contexts and that can be chosen and discarded. A good grounding to these issues is provided by Giddens 1991, which argues that late modernity is marked by a self that has become a “reflexive project,” created by a narrative of self-identity that is a form of control that mirrors the orientation of modern institutions. Bauman 2004 famously argues that more recently, globalization has destabilized personal identities, as “traditional” anchors of identity, such as the workplace, nation, and class, have been undermined. Jenkins 2008, the third edition of the classic work, provides an introduction and overview of the debates (also cited under General Overviews and Social and Cultural Identity). The idea that there has been a “hybridization” of identity and that the postmodern era is one of new, speculative identities is often associated with contemporary mobility (see Mobility and Migration and Transnationalism and Diasporic Identities) or globalization (see also Globalization). For example, D’Andrea 2006 considers the relationship between global hypermobility and the formation of subjectivities, using notions of neo-nomadism, fluidity and rootlessness to examine the effects on the self and identity. Bauman 2000 presents globalization as the source of identity disruptions, arguing that we have moved from a “heavy” or “solid” modernity to a “light” and “liquid” era, in which structures, identities, and relationships are characterized by remoteness and fluidity. Although Bauman 2000 portrays the “postmodern self” as being subject to constant change and negotiation, it is recognized that the possibility of switching between temporary, self-chosen identities is not available to certain people, such as criminals, noncitizens, and ethnic minorities. Griffiths 2013 provides an anthropological example of state attempts to capture the identities of irregular migrants, many of whom do not have identity documents and find that any fluidity of identity is interpreted as deception rather than self-expression.

Bauman, Z. 2000. Liquid modernity. Cambridge, UK: Polity.
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Bauman argues that the contemporary world has fundamentally changed and we must rethink concepts used to narrate experience. He explores five such concepts, including through chapters on individuality and changes in the work place and community. Book builds on his earlier work, particularly Globalization: The Human Consequences (Oxford: Polity, 1998) and In Search of Politics (Oxford: Polity, 1999).
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Bauman, Z. 2004. Identity: Conversations with Benedetto Vecchi. Cambridge, UK: Polity.
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Accessible and concise book of just 140 pages, based on emails between Bauman and the journalist Benedetto Vecchi. Bauman suggests that globalization, social mobility, and reduced work security have increased the transience and elusiveness of identity. Easy and inviting to read, the book provides a compelling introduction to Bauman’s eclectic work on identity and modern life.
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D’Andrea, A. 2006. Neo-nomadism: A theory of post-identitarian mobility in the global age. Mobilities 1.1: 95–119.
DOI: 10.1080/17450100500489148Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
This anthropological article draws on ethnographic research on expatriates to examine hypermobility and identity formation. It includes discussion about the methodological challenges of work on nomadic ethnography.
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Giddens, A. 1991. Modernity and self-identity: Self and society in the late modern age. Cambridge, UK: Polity.
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A major study in which Giddens develops a new account of modernity and its relationship to the psychology of the self and self-identity, building upon his earlier work, particularly The Consequences of Modernity (Oxford: Polity, 1990). Suitable for students and scholars in social and political theory, sociology, human geography, and social psychology.
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Griffiths, M. 2013. “Establishing your true identity”: Immigration detention and contemporary identification debates. In Identification and registration practices in transnational perspective: People, papers and practices. Edited by I. About, J. Brown, and G. Lonergan, 281–307. Basingstoke, UK: Palgrave Macmillan.
DOI: 10.1057/9781137367310Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
Chapter in a book on identification practices across time and space. This anthropological essay considers the identity-related problems faced by a group of immigration detainees in the early 2000s. Looks at how immigration authorities contested and (re)established their identities, and questions the implications for people with discredited or fluid identities.
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Jenkins, R. 2008. Social identity. 3d ed. London: Routledge.
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Easily accessible yet critical introduction to social science theories of identity. First published in 1996; revised and rereleased in 2004 and 2008. This edition includes a new chapter on postmodern approaches to identity.
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Identification and Biometrics

Attempts to ascertain people’s identities have been practiced for centuries. A historical overview of such practices in Europe, the Soviet Union, Africa, and North and South America is provided by Caplan and Torpey 2001. Contributions cover the development of identification practices from the early modern period onward, that is, from written physical descriptions, to passports, fingerprinting, identity cards, and DNA typing. About, et al. 2013 also address the development of identity-verification documents and techniques, covering some 500 years and a number of countries, from 16th-century parish registers to 21st-century supermarket loyalty cards. Identity verification techniques took on particular significance in the 20th century, however, with an expansion of scale and technological sophistication. One of the most influential theorists on this is sociologist David Lyon. Lyon 2009 covers the new technologies involved and the role of private companies in identity verification. The book argues that there has been a “function creep” of identification requirements into everyday life and coins the expression “governing by identification” (p. 90) to capture this growing demand for identification information. Muller 2004 also discusses the dramatic expansion of identity management and the implications of this phenomenon for models of citizenship, sovereign power, and exclusion. The article argues that citizenship is now primarily framed as an issue of identity management. One of the characteristics of 21st-century identification is the role played by biometrics: bodily-based identity verification methods that include digitized fingerprints, iris or retinal scans, facial topography, and voice recognition. Amoore 2006 interrogates the role of biometrics in governing mobility and borders in the context of the “war on terror.” The paper draws on an American example to suggest that today borders are primarily managed through the exercise of biopower, including through risk profiling and biometric measurement. Although biometrics are often presented as an infallible and objective technology, they remain problematic, politicized, and racialized. Browne 2010 draws on the work of Paul Gilroy and Frantz Fanon to look at the interplay of race and identity with biometrics and identification documents, to discuss what is called “digital epidermalization.” The fallibilities of DNA fingerprinting are explored by Lynch, et al. 2008, in a book that finds that although often presented as a “truth machine,” DNA evidence remains controversial and problematic. Murray 2007 writes about the inability of biometric technologies to read certain types of body, arguing that this deficiency creates “illegible” bodies.

About, I., J. Brown, and G. Lonergan, eds. 2013. Identification and registration practices in transnational perspective: People, papers and practices. Basingstoke, UK: Palgrave Macmillan.
DOI: 10.1057/9781137367310Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
Seventeen chapters written by experts from a range of disciplines, including history, anthropologym and criminology. Chapters cover identification practices from the 16th century to the modern era. Will appeal to students and academics of a range of disciplines.
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Amoore, L. 2006. Biometric borders: Governing mobilities in the war on terror. Political Geography 25:336–351.
DOI: 10.1016/j.polgeo.2006.02.001Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
Draws on US VISIT (Visitor and Immigration Status Indicator Technology) program of border controls to argue that biometrics have become a central plank to the “war on terror,” but remain a problematic and contestable technique. Amoore develops the idea of the “biometric border.”
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Browne, S. 2010. Digital epidermalization: Race, identity and biometrics. Critical Sociology 36.1: 131–150.
DOI: 10.1177/0896920509347144Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
Draws on policy documents on biometric-enabled identification documents and the 2003 “deportation” of a Canadian citizen to India through the issuance of an expedited removal order by the US Immigration and Naturalization Services. Browne situates contemporary biometrics within embodied practices, ontological insecurity, and race.
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Caplan, J., and J. Torpey, eds. 2001. Documenting individual identity. Princeton, NJ: Princeton Univ. Press.
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Collection of nineteen chapters offering a comprehensive historical overview of the development of identification technologies, from around the world. Contributors include historians, sociologists, historians of science, political scientists, economists, and specialists in international relations. The volume is of both academic and public significance.
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Lynch, M., S. Cole, R. McNally, and K. Jordan. 2008. Truth machine: The contentious history of DNA fingerprinting. Chicago: Univ. of Chicago Press.
DOI: 10.7208/chicago/9780226498089.001.0001Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
Book looking at DNA profiling. Draws on court cases in the United States and United Kingdom from the invention of the practice in the mid-1980s, until the early 21st century. Touches upon science, technology, sociology, and law.
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Lyon, D. 2009. Identifying citizens: ID cards as surveillance. Cambridge, UK: Polity.
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Book looking at proliferation of ID card systems, touching on new technologies, digitized fingerprints and photos, and computerized registries of personal information. It takes a historical, comparative, and sociological approach to identification and new ID cards in particular.
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Muller, B. J. 2004. (Dis)qualified bodies: Securitization, citizenship and “identity management.” Citizenship Studies 8.3: 279–294.
DOI: 10.1080/1362102042000257005Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
Article on identification, sovereign power, and citizenship. Includes discussion of biometrics and security, and draws on Michel Foucault, Carl Schmitt, and Michael Williams. Muller argues that the securitized, bureaucratized, and “scientized” realm of identity management provides what appears to be a sanitary means of identifying threats.
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Murray, H. 2007. Monstrous play in negative spaces: Illegible bodies and the cultural construction of biometric technology. Communication Review 10.4: 347–365.
DOI: 10.1080/10714420701715415Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
Article that looks at the inability of biometrics to read certain types of bodies. Drawing on Foucauldian notions of normativity, Murray argues that this deficiency creates “illegible” bodies, or people who cannot be identified.
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