International Perspectives on Cultural Identity

Abstract

This essay compares the views on cultural identity of selected scholars from Iran and China and from Britain and Europe. The research contained in this article is important for the comparative approach it provides for seeing cultural identity in its cultural contexts. The author has spent considerable time studying and living in both Iran and China and finds these two developing countries of interest to Western European scholars of cultural identity. This essay compares quantitative and theoretical research from both Iranian (Saied Reza Ameli) and Chinese (Guo-Ming Chen) scholars to the works of internationally recognized British (Annabelle Sreberny) and European scholars (Manuel Castells). In this era of globalization, the Iranian study views British Muslim identity as “dialectical identities” while the Chinese view as “interfusion identities.” The Briton views the concept as “multiple identities” and the European views it as “flexible identities.” A new theory of “globalized identities in a localized context” is offered after completing a comprehensive review of these cross-cultural perspectives. The conclusion of the review of these cross-cultural perspectives is that, in the current era, the identities being formed may be called “globalized identities in a localized context."