“How Do I See Myself? It’s Complicated”: Qualitatively Eliciting, Analyzing and Understanding Individuals’ Self-Attitudes towards Identity in an Australian Jewish Community

Abstract

It can be difficult to define what “identity” means and encapsulates in groups and communities. This is particularly true in ethnic communities, where identity can overflow neat categories like religion, culture and nationality. Yet understanding what makes and shapes identity in a community can provide insight into its activities, tensions and motivations, aiding community research. In this paper, I document a methodology of the elicitation of self-understanding, from members of a community group, of their own identities within the group context, using a case study of members of an Australian Jewish community. The themes that arise from analyzing the elicited responses, and the participants’ discussions of them, highlight key ways that contemporary identity might be understood within this particular community. The exercise uncovered trends and tensions within the negotiation of identity as part of a minority community, which could inform and enrich broader study with this group.