Identity in Anthropology

Abstract

Identity is a key term in anthropology but it is also a contested one, dealing with the question of who we are in relation to others. It relates, on the one hand, to categories of the individual or sameness with oneself and, on the other, to collective distinctions of otherness. It is both a practice and a process of cognitive classification. It is fluid and transcends boundaries but, to a certain degree, has to be stable in order for others to identify one as theirs. Furthermore, it is at the same time a public discourse and an obvious phenomenon in the world and is thus an object of inquiry if not an analytical category. Most prominent among the many identity aspects we employ is probably the ethnic one, which hinges on a bundle of markers used to distinguish each other in presumed cultural terms, always embedded in power games that try to secure political support and loyalty.