What is "Identity"
What is "Identity"
In their article Brubaker and Cooper highlight the tensions invoked by the application of the term "identity" in categories of social practice and analysis. They argue that the flexibility of "identity" as a "softly defined" term, conflicts with the specificity required in its application to observable behavior and experiences. In critiquing the use of the term "identity," the authors consider "identification and categorization," "self-understanding" and "commonality" as replacements which may alleviate the split between theory and practice (Brubaker and Cooper 2000).
. While "identity" is a useful boundary in politics for categorizing the preferences and experiences of constituent groups, this article chips away at the belief that identity can be concretely defined in theory and practice. Although it offers a variety of common definitions and applications of the term, each case has its own tensions and discrepancies. This makes the category itself extremely variable to interpretation. Despite their attention to the variability of "identity," the authors do not discourage the use of the term across the board. Instead, I believe they are calling for increased attention to how the word is considered and applied. Specifically, they repeatedly return to the top of social context to distinguish between collective and individual identity.
Through the three cases referenced in the last segment of the paper, it is clear that the fault of defining identity through categorical models is that there is insufficient consideration of the variable relations of individuals within the group. Additionally, the variables of review which categorize individuals into collective groups identities are open to interpretation. This is especially relevant in the first example where the tribal boundaries of "the Nuer" are considered. The article shows how political scholars and historians continue to value different familial connections when defining tribal bounds. The inconsistencies of the identity frameworks here invoke skepticism about the actual analytical criteria used to determine "identity." If the term is so open to interpretation, its actual value may be called into question.
This shows me that with each interpretation of "identity," whether they be chiefly political or anthropological, it is essential to remember who is responsible for the categorization.
- Why are they choosing to draw the identity lines this way?
- What attributes are they valuing to differentiate between groups, and why?
These questions can be applied to our own communities to reveal what attributes we weigh when drawing social bounds. In coastal Floridian cities, for example, the social groups are often categorized mainly in relation to the service economy. Here you can see a careful balance between local service providers and their two primary sources of revenue, retirees, and tourists. Despite the various other attributes of consideration that could be used to consider identity, a focus on the economy would identify three distinct groups; locals, vacationers, and retirees.
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| "The Villages® community in Florida is one of the largest age-restricted active adult communities in the state - as well as the world" (The Villages n.d.) |
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| Florida's service economy is dependent on recognized vacation hotspots attracting vacationers. |
These identities may be localized to areas with strong tourism and retirement industries and less applicable to other states. The chief industries in Missouri, for example, include "aerospace, transportation equipment, and food processing" (Missouri).
In this example, placement within the economy is considered as the chief determinant of identity, but this is by no means the only framework that can be applied to signify groupings. As Brubaker and Cooper show in their article, identity should be recognized as a widely utilized tool and not a concrete practice or analysis.
Works Referenced and Images Used-
Brubaker, Rogers, and Frederick Cooper. 2000. "Beyond' Identity.'" Theory and Society 29: 1–47.
"Florida Service Economy - Google Search." https://www.google.com/search?q=florida+service+economy&sxsrf=ALeKk03-V0CDDxr61o1qAZ67am-IENqNQA:1591716389630&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjfsPLPhfXpAhWnSTABHXvhCNEQ_AUoAnoECBAQBA&biw=2134&bih=1116#imgrc=MaDqRtPQ7kTncM (June 9, 2020).
"Missouri Economy: Missouri Agriculture and Industry." https://www.ereferencedesk.com/resources/state-economy/missouri.html (June 9, 2020).
"Phase Two Promising for Florida's Tourism Economy | WFLA." https://www.wfla.com/community/health/coronavirus/phase-two-promising-for-floridas-tourism-economy/ (June 9, 2020).
"The Villages ®, FL | Real Estate The Villages®, Florida | 55+ Community." The Villages ®, FL | Real Estate The Villages®, Florida | 55+ Community. https://www.55places.com/florida/communities/the-villages (June 9, 2020).
"Universal-Orlando-.Jpg (1920×1080)." https://www.wfla.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/71/2020/05/Universal-Orlando-.jpg?w=1920&h=1080&crop=1 (June 9, 2020).
"Villagessign_01.Jpg (800×480)." https://images.55places.com/s3gEgKQ8gPGKlRgT7qV8VFZ9NE4=/800x480/nhds-areaphotos/original/community/villagessign_01.jpg (June 9, 2020).
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The comparison to planned communities is great because, after all, nations are planned communities (at some point by some small group of people). Two things to think about: 1. what role do inherited characteristics need to play in defining what is and isn't an identity? In the planned communities example, one could think that being from the Villages is an identity because children are born there and grow up there. But does the Villages constitute a "national identity" wherein somehow the people of the nation are distinct from the people of the planned community next door? Maybe and maybe not. 2. Imposing an identity is an important government tool. We do this in the United States by determining what ethnic groups can be listed on the census or which options there are for gender. Though this is a bit less extreme than some countries go to when trying to re-define identity-based groups, the U.S. is not an exception to trying to manipulate identity.
ReplyDeleteI appreciate your skepticism of the assignment of identities like "the Nuer" by people who really had no place assigning those identities. I think the same problem exists in politics in general. Identity is such a fluid and inconsistent thing that grouping people based on one element of their perceived identity and extrapolating a ton of information about the group based on one shared characteristic is usually a fool's errand. Take American politics, for example. The main divide is between Democrats and Republicans, and while a majority of Americans identify with the two parties, not everyone does. There is often an assumption that Democrat means liberal ideology and Republican means conservative ideology, but the reality of that distinction is also more nuanced. In the 2020 Democratic Presidential Primaries in particular, there were often attempts by pundits/analysts to group people into ideologies based on their candidate of choice. Supporters of Bernie Sanders were often classified as being very liberal, but in reality, when polls asked about second or third choices, it was common for Sanders supporters to indicate Buttigieg or Biden as their second choice. Buttigieg and Biden are both decidedly moderate, so if candidate support was based on ideological alignment alone, that kind of overlap simply wouldn't happen. My point with all this is that identity is too broad and unique for each individual person to categorize large subsets of the population based on one or two shared characteristics.
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