Identity, Society and Culture

Paper Summary:

The paper argues that the concept of social identity and how it relates to processes of socialization are determined by both the social context in which we live and the economic and cultural forces that define this context. The paper discusses how Western societies are generally more individualist while Eastern societies subordinate the self to the requirements of social order. The paper shows how these processes are accelerating under the influence of globalization and mass migration and their accompanying alienation effects. The paper notes that given the relative newness of these processes, the actual parameters that social identity will assume in the future remain unclear and require further research.

Outline:
Introduction
The Individual, Social Identity and Socialization
The Self and Society in East and West
Social Identity in the Globalized Context
Conclusion

From the Paper:

"It is in the dynamic tension between collective identity and individual identity that our social identity is formed (Jenkins 15-16). Within the context of western civilization, the creation of the self is widely regarded as our primary or basic identification (Jenkins 47). As one critic observes: "Selfhood is arguably the earliest identification humans develop, and the most robust . . . . It can perhaps be understood as offering a template for all subsequent identities. . . ." (Jenkins 47)"
"Jenkins' perspective serves as an effective representation of the general understanding of the self and socialization in Western culture. One of the important features of this argument is the view that, at least within the context of western civilization, social identity is a profoundly individual construction."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Berger, John. And Our Faces, My Heart, Brief as Photos. New York: Pantheon, 1984.
• Berger, Peter. Invitation to Sociology: A Humanistic Perspective.New York: Anchor, 1963.
• Berger, Peter and Thomas Luckmann. The Social Construction of Reality. New York: Anchor, 1966.
• Dariotis, Wei and Fung, Eileen. "Breaking the Soy Sauce Jar:Diaspora and Displacement in the Films of Ang Lee."Transnational Chinese Cinemas: Identity, Nationhood, Gender.Ed. Sheldon Hsiao-peng Lu. Honolulu: University of Hawai'i Press, 1997: 187-220.
• Jenkins, Richard. Social Identity. London: Routledge, 2004.

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