Questions Of Identity Research Articles

The Quest for Identity in a Male-Dominated Society: Representations of Women in Manju Kapur’s Difficult Daughters

As a woman writer, Manju Kapur discusses women-centric issues in all her novels. The present article focuses on Kapur’s novel Difficult Daughters (London: Faber & Faber, 1998), and specifically the issue of women seeking a space of their own in a male-dominated society. Women in this patriarchal society are not allowed to speak out, protest against injustice, or challenge accepted customs, superstitious beliefs, or rituals. They are merely held captive by the patriarchal system, which demands that women be meek, obedient, and passive, not asserting their rights as women or as human beings. In order to depict this stereotypical pattern of life in India, Kapur creates her female characters to be fighters against taboos, conventional norms, and family constraints forced on them by patriarchal society. Her female characters speak out against male chauvinism to assert their rights. The portrayal of women’s inner lives and delicate relationships has been a prominent focus in recent Indian women’s writing. In contrast to marital bliss and the duty of women in the home, finding one’s identity and dissent are new ideas in this literature. This article tries to highlight these fascinating aspects of Manju Kapur’s Difficult Daughters through an analysis of the female characters in the novel and how the patriarchal system oppresses and stifles them.

The Seductions of Identity: Thinking About Identity and Transgender

In this paper I first outline a conceptual compass to think about identity generally before addressing more specifically the question of transgender identity. To this end, I draw on Gilles Deleuze’s (1993) related concepts of the rhizome and of the fold. I then argue that the body has always been and is ever-more-so the place for figurating the self, for finding and substantiating identity—hence, the unconscious psychic investments that we have in our bodies are key to our theorizing about any kind of identity. I propose that this focus provides a more productive, generative starting point for thinking about transgender identity specifically than any individual developmental theory because it accommodates the heterogeneity subsumed under the umbrella term transgender.

Lost in Transition- Quest for Identity Through Diaspora

The conceptualization of migration in literature which more often than not precipitates tragedy and in turn the dilemma in identity is associated with the literary concept of diaspora. Popularly categorized with the longing for homeland and its poetics, there is a rhetorical attempt to fathom the void caused due to displacement. The dichotomy of two identities, created due to tension between the former self-clinging to roots of origin and the latter trying to configure oneself within the framework of a new identity, contributes to the amalgamation of distinguishable individualities. Primarily, Diaspora literature is characterized by a sense of alienation and loss that envelopes the narrative and it is conditioned by the after-effects of expatriation migration. Generally, it revolves around themes of displacement, attempts to trace back existential roots, nostalgia, and the inescapable association of the dire quest for identity that diaspora and migration literature bring on to. It deals with the equivocacy of plurality and hybridization in the domain of constantly changing identities and transnationalism in the process of migration. The paper attempts to examine the various forms of literature and the way they concretize diaspora, as a result: evoking literary stimuli of longing for homeland due to displacement. It aims to encompass the realms of cultural, economic, social, religious, and political consciousness that change an individual's displacement from one dominion to another. The narrative is shaped into reality with devices of metaphors and zeugma to explain exaggerated realities. This paper specifically closely reads texts of various literary genres like Marjane Satrapi's Persepolis, a graphic novel, Salman Rushdie's essay Imaginary Homelands Rohinton Mistry's short story Swimming Lessons and Jhumpa Lahiri's novel, Namesake.

Between Picaresque and Historical Novel: Questions of Identity, Social Criticism and Persecution in 1492: Vida y tiempos de Juan Cabezón de Castilla by Homero Aridjis

This article analyses Mexican poet Homero Aridjis’ 1985 novel 1492: Vida y tiempos de Juan Cabezón de Castilla, set in Spain between 1391 and 1492 during a time of increased persecution and the subsequent expulsion of the Sephardic Jews, narrated by the converso Juan Cabezón. It examines questions of identity, Otherness and social criticism through the lens of the ‘poética comprometida de la picaresca’ and highlights the continued contemporary significance of these topics in the twenty-first century.

National identity and the problem of multilingualism in Algeria

The question of "multilingualism" has occupied the interest of researchers in various fields, because it represents a double-edged sword. It can be a way for less developed societies to catch up with developed societies which impose their dominant languages in the field of science, but in return it can have negative short term effects and long term affects the foundations of science. nation, especially the issue of national identity, which can threaten the security and stability of societies. This is what we will focus on in this tagged article: Linguistic plurality and its implications on the question of identity in Algeria through an exposure to the concept of identity, the concept of multilingualism, and finally the problems posed by multilingualism in the question of identity.

Adolescence and identity peregrinations

When we work with children and teenagers, we are always open to their singular questions about their subjective foundations and their future. Questions of identity are increasingly present at the heart of our fast-paced modern world. Two clinical extracts from psychotherapies show that this quest for identity is dealt with on a case-by-case basis, while respecting each individual's temporality.

Working on "A Never-Ending Puzzle": A Narrative Study Examining How Latina Collegians' Mothers Informed Their Meaning Making About Intersecting Identities

Abstract: Higher education scholarship has underscored how contextual influences within and outside institutional settings influence students' developmental journeys. A subset of research has examined how Latinx/a/o students broach questions of identity while in college and how families inform their development. Yet, little scholarship has investigated how Latina collegians uniquely experience familial influences given their multiple minoritized identities. Centering the stories of 12 Latina collegians, this narrative study explored how they made meaning of their intersecting identities as they entered and moved through higher education, with their maternal relationships as a central area of interest. We studied how Latinas described verbal and implicit messages from their mothers; we then analyzed how these participants discussed their meaning-making processes relative to those messages using the intersectional model of multiple dimensions of identity (Jones et al., 2013) as a framework. Findings revealed the following: (a) maternal figures' early influence on the recognition of one's social location and systems reinforcing their positioning, (b) meaning making in college that complicated what participants learned about their identities from their mothers, and (c) strategies Latina collegians used to reconcile maternal and other external influences as they moved toward living authentically. We provide implications for future research on Latina collegians' identity development, as well as recommendations for higher education and student affairs practice.

The Question of Identity in Mohsin Hamid's The Reluctant Fundamentalist from Hegel's Perspective of 'Self and Other'

The present study aims to explore and analyze the Question of Identity in Mohsin Hamid's novel The Reluctant Fundamentalist (2007) from Hegel's perspective of 'Self and Other' by using textual analysis. A qualitative method has been used to interpret the novel by applying Hegel's concept of 'Self and Other' as a framework. Hegel's concept of 'Self and Other' further clarifies the process of Self-consciousness involving the factors of Desire, Recognition, Thinking and Reason. In The Reluctant Fundamentalist, the protagonist, Changez becomes the victim of questionable identity after the 9/11 event in America. He gets a series of untoward incidents during his stay in America. In the present research work, the researcher has become able to explore and analyze Changez’s process of getting self-realization in resolving the question of identity through Hegel’s perspective of ‘Self and Other’.

국어교사의 미디어 리터러시 수업 전문성 개발과 실행에 관한 심층인터뷰 연구

This study conducted in-depth interviews with eight Korean language teachers who actively practiced media literacy education to understand professionalism in media literacy education, which was acquired from and enacted in continuous professional development. The elements of professionalism were divided into beliefs and attitudes, functions, and strategies, and 16 sub-categories were derived.
 The sub-categories of “Beliefs and Attitudes” included media as a mediator for authentic participation, “responsibility to teach a new language,” the need for education to become a “wise citizen,” everyday exploration and continuous participation in resources for learning, the cycle of challenge and reflection on new instruction, active enjoyment of media, critical thinking about the world, the ability to “match the children’s eye level,” the formation of a supporter identity, and the questioning of identity as Korean language teachers.
 The sub-categories of “Functions and Strategies” included enacting multifaceted authenticity in learning, integrating and expanding learning experiences, embracing learner diversity, fostering learner autonomy, constructing and utilizing learning communities, and expressing solidarity and seeking consultation with peers and other subject teachers.
 Educational implications to develop Korean language teachers’ professionalism in media literacy education were discussed.

Populizm retropijny. O tożsamości alternatywnej prawicy

The subject of the article is the phenomenon of successes of right-wing parties and their leaders. The contemporary rise of radical populism and its geopolitical scope are reflected in the discourse of its new features. Such a discussion offers a wealth of concepts and notions. Most of them describe practices of dismantling” democracy, threats of dictatorship or even fascism. The presented analysis focuses on the question of the ideological identity of cases that can be specified as consolidated populism. The thesis I advance shows that the source of the durability of electoral support is a specific narrative based on a thinking style which Zygmunt Bauman termed “retrotopia”. This popular world view functions as a legitimizing myth, which the process of limiting democracy hides in the form of culture war. I conclude that the concept of retrotopia adds little to the distinction between today’s different varieties of populist movements and political leaders.

Diasporic Identity of Sikh Youth Among Jakarta's Multicultural Society

Purpose: The presence of the Sikh religion in Indonesia, particularly in Jakarta, is a group of ethnic minorities among Jakarta's multicultural society. Recognizing Sikh followers is seen in their identity, which is distinguished by the use of 5K. In Jakarta, the young Sikh diaspora also creates communities to maintain their sense of identity. The Sikh diaspora must be able to maintain their identity discrimination in order to continue practicing the Sikh religion as taught by Guru Nanak Dev and the other nine Sikh Gurus.
 Methodology: the method used in this research is qualitative type by using literature study method and interviewing sources. Data from literature study are taken from books, journals, proceedings and articles related to history, traditions, religious activity and current issues related to Sikh religion, position and identity of Sikh youth in Indonesia, especially in the city of Jakarta.
 Findings: Sikhism faces several challenges and issues that may affect young people, including questions of identity, belonging and meaning, as do all faith communities. The use of social media and digital podcasts has certainly been effective in capturing the attention of Sikh youth, as has the building of a Sikh online community using the Gurdwara as the primary venue for delivering Sikh religious enrichment programmes for youth.
 Implications: The strategy for strengthening beliefs and self-identity in Sikh youth is to begin using social media with the goal of being easily accepted by Sikh youth in this digital era.

Dimensions auto-curatives et pré-engagement thérapeutique du « développement personnel »

Objective“Self-help” refers to a heterogeneous collection of syncretic knowledge, delivered in the form of books, videos or training courses. This content is sought after by many people whose obvious objective is the quest for an authentic self, in a society where identity supports are wavering. In addition to being a critical consideration, our study aims to better understand the motivations of those who invest in this knowledge and who feed their preferences for these non-conventional approaches. MethodWithin the framework of a literature review in the form of clinical anthropology, three clinical vignettes are presented, based on clinical research interviews conducted with volunteers engaged in a personal development process. ResultsOne of the participants is involved in a practice that includes two mentors; another pursues only a reflective approach nourished by his readings; and the last one supplements his readings with psychological consultations. All of them pursue a desire for inner transformation in connection with a questioning of identity. DiscussionReading such works can promote forms of symbolization mediated by reading. The first vignette provides a clinical illustration of the concept of “apérité” developed by Nicolas Marquis. It demonstrates that the possibility for the subject to identify himself with the contents of the self-help book, which allows him to develop new representations, linked to his personal life history, thereby helping him to move towards a clearer representation of his internal world and the functioning of his identity. The second subject is more motivated by the hope of the existence of an ideal of life that he could implement with the help of the concrete application of certain key factors. He is trying to rebound from a complex family situation that has pushed him to break with his family. By adopting a self-help approach, he is attempting to find the support and backing that he did not have in his family environment. The identification with mentors constitutes a support comparable to a religious precept. The practice of mentoring embodies a real system of reference and support in the life of the third subject interviewed. Over time, this practice enabled him to establish a new relationship with his parents and to gradually emancipate himself. The mentor is often assigned to accompany the individual in the development of a mindset that favors his or her empowerment. This practice also underpins a path towards self-awareness, by inviting the subject to consciously reconnect with his internal world and the different sensations that run through it at various moments of daily life. From the perspective of the participants in the study, personal development stimulates a self-therapeutic work whose limits are exceeded by a gradual openness towards another, in a process of therapeutic pre-commitment. ConclusionIf it is possible to locate the coordinates of the current tendency to strive for personal development in certain mutations of the social bond, it seems necessary to develop a careful and rigorous approach to this form of therapeutic pluralism sought out by a portion of the general population.

Unmasking Xenophobia: Exploring Anti-Chinese Sentiments in Indonesia through a Criminological Lens

The Chinese ethnicity in Indonesia has traversed a long and intricate historical journey, grappling with the quest for identity and nationality as Indonesian citizens. Despite the attempts to deny or overlook this reality, the truth remains steadfast: Indonesian Chinese individuals cannot evade racism and social envy in their day-to-day lives as citizens of Indonesia. In certain instances, this even manifests as symptoms of xenophobia, an excessive disdain or prejudice towards those perceived as foreigners. This research delves into the symptoms of xenophobia experienced by the Indonesian Chinese, meticulously recounting past occurrences while exploring the public's endeavors to uphold Indonesia's ideology of Pancasila as a unifying force. By employing a statutory, conceptual, and historical approach, this study reveals that xenophobia towards the Indonesian Chinese community has persistently plagued the public consciousness, despite their legal recognition in the country. The protection of Indonesian Chinese necessitates the establishment of specialized legal instruments. Furthermore, alongside regulating their protection, the maximization of efforts lies in embracing Pancasila as a powerful instrument of national unity.

Identity Questions and National Symbols: The Role of National Symbols in the Formation of National and Constitutional Identity

Recent decades have seen numerous identity debates around the European Union and its integration process. The protection of national and constitutional identities and their underlying values is at the root of these identity disputes. Each nation has its own constitutional identity, national identity, and constitutional values. This identity and sense of identity and values are reflected and expressed through a system of symbols. National and state symbols serve to both form and shape national and constitutional identity.

Meyer Schapiro, the Jewish Museum, and Living Artists: A Scholar’s Overlooked Activism

Abstract Meyer Schapiro was among a handful of New York’s most prominent Jewish thinkers writing about modern art during the post-Second World War period, just as the international center of new art had shifted there from Paris. Unlike his contemporaries Clement Greenberg and Harold Rosenberg, however, Schapiro is thought to have “seldom” or only “subliminally” addressed questions of Jewish identity, suggesting that he avoided or suppressed the matter. Yet his nearly four-decade-long relationship with the Jewish Museum of New York tells a different story. Schapiro’s unpublished correspondence, memoranda, and addresses reveal his role in transforming the Jewish Museum into a venue for avant-garde art and his urging Jewish acceptance of modern art, including works that were not visibly Jewish or that were created by non-Jews. These efforts reflect the ways his kinship with the Jewish community prompted his articulation of universal values of humanitarianism and social justice that he associated with Judaism, values that coincided with his social activism. The archival materials also show how Schapiro engaged with questions of Jewish identity as he drew on his scholarly knowledge and his affinity with the Jewish community to further the appreciation of modern art for the benefit of Jewish and non-Jewish artists and audiences.

Challenging Stereotypes? Norwegian Music Teachers’ Repertoires on Gender Roles and Gender-Expansiveness

The 2020 Norwegian national curriculum for primary, lower secondary, and upper secondary education includes a “competence aim” after Year 7 that expects pupils to be able to “investigate how gender, gender roles, and sexuality are presented in music and dance in the public sphere and create expressions that challenge stereotypes.” This article reviews four focus group interviews in which music teachers discussed the relevance and application of the new competence aim and their own experiences with gender roles and gender-expansive expressions among their pupils in their music practices. Using analytical tools from the field of discourse psychology, we trace and identify the discursive resources or “repertoires” that music teachers draw on when approaching questions of gender roles, gender identities, and sexuality. While the repertoires in question imply that the teachers hold progressive views about gender identities and expressions, the notion of “ideological dilemmas” enables us to ask whether the progressive attitudes may in fact also work to confirm perceptions of normative, binary gender conformity, hence also delimiting the diversity and freedom of gender expression that the repertoires seem to celebrate. We suggest that a queer pedagogical thinking can offer music teachers tools to address topics related to gender roles, sexuality, and queerness in their music educational practices.

Individualism, Collectivism, and Identity Politics in Palestinian Life Writing

ABSTRACT This article examines the tensions, (dis)continuities, and precariousness of postcolonial identities in the autobiographical writings of Palestinian authors Ghada Karmi and Raja Shehadeh. The question of identity will be examined considering Gayatri Spivak’s conceptualisation of strategic essentialism and Kimberlé Crenshaw’s collective identity politics in the texts, as well as concepts of multiple affiliations by Amin Maalouf and Chantal Mouffe. Through the textual and contextual analysis, I demonstrate that emphasising an individualist sense of identity is a vital means of empowerment for the subject in a patriarchal and collectivist culture. Simultaneously, identifying with the national collective emerges in these texts as an indispensable means of anti-colonial resistance and steadfastness. Particularly in a context of ongoing settler colonialism, collectivist affiliation becomes inevitable to safeguard Indigenous identity and to challenge the hegemonic colonial discourse that aims to eliminate the native collective. Therefore, a conflict arises between the authors’ desire for nonconformity and individualist expression on the one hand and the imposed collectivist affiliation due to the urgent anti-colonial cause on the other. I argue that the individual author finds him/herself trapped in an unresolvable predicament of identity that dramatises questions of belonging and affiliation. These personal narratives are thus paradoxically and unavoidably relational, dependent, and speak to the collective experience of the Palestinian people. The article concludes that identification in contexts of colonial struggle challenges both the binary opposition of individualism and collectivism, and the notion of a unified and autonomous selfhood.

No Longer Indigenous

Investigating individual level-Indigenous identification change by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians has been enabled through the linkage of census data across time. This study focusses on the population who moved from an identification of Indigenous in the 2011 census to not Indigenous in the 2016 census. We calculated transition probabilities for a range of personal characteristics to investigate the influence of broad life-course transitions on the pattern of identification change. In addition to age, we found that sex, employment, mixed ancestry, interstate migration, and living arrangements had the strongest associations with the risk of a transition to not Indigenous. The highest transition probabilities were at each end of the adult life-course and the role of “not stated” was implicated, destabilising assumptions that decisions to identify as Indigenous, or not, always reflect personal agency. Finally, the paper challenges the adequacy of an origin-based identity question to define the increasingly complex ethnic histories of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people. Both improved definition and enumeration of Indigenous Australians are fundamental to current national conversations about constitutional recognition and continuing gaps in measured health and wellbeing.

Competing visions of ‘the people’ in Australia: First Nations and the state

In 2020 the Australian High Court decided the case of Love v. Commonwealth; Thoms v. Commonwealth, a claim of constitutional belonging by two Aboriginal men. The Court was fractured in its reasoning and conclusion, a majority deciding that ‘Aboriginal Australians’ cannot be aliens. The case sits within a longer and ongoing story regarding the interaction between First Nations peoples and the Australian settler colonial state. The reasoning of the Love/Thoms case reveals two contrasting visions of the constitutional identity of ‘the people’ – one being a plural and diverse conception potentially capable of accommodating a distinct identity of First Nations peoples, the other being a unified conception dominated by formal equality and democratic participation. A study of the Love/Thoms case in its context also speaks to broader questions of constitutional identity. First, that constitutional identity is constructed through the interaction of multiple actors. It is through an ongoing dialogic between constitutional actors that constitutional identity evolves over time. Second, that there is a relationship between the identity of ‘the people’ and of their Constitution. A study of the construction of the constitutional identity of ‘the people’ in this case reveals principal characteristics of the Australian state’s constitutionalism: going to institutional and substantive questions regarding the respective roles of the people and the Courts, equality and sovereignty.

Color and Number Symbolism in the Novel “Paradise” by Abdulrazzak Gurnah

This article addresses the use of colors and numbers in fictional literature, namely Abdulrazak Gurnah's Paradise, to express ideas beyond their literal meanings. Some authors may even employ colors to express a mood or underline critical themes in their works; for example, pastel colors may suggest dreaminess, while deeper tones may denote mystery or dread. The practice of giving particular numbers or numbers patterns value and meaning is known as number symbolism. This custom has been practiced throughout history in various nations and traditions and is frequently applied in spiritual, religious, or mystical situations. The symbols for the numbers three, seven, twelve, forty, and hundreds are well-known. Each of them alludes to diverse cultural perspectives that vary. The novel Paradise by Abdulrazak Gurnah might serve as an illustration of how colors and numbers can be used to convey ideas to readers about the importance of both colors and symbols in global culture. White, black, green, and red are frequently used color combinations in Paradise and are associated with colonialism, passion, desire, and nature. Numbers three, seven and twelve examine memory, religion, and personal identity questions. Colors and numbers are two parallel motifs frequently appearing in literature, yet Abdulrazak Gurnah's Paradise shows how important colors are relative to numbers. Additionally, in fictional literature, colors and numerals serve as indicators of cultural elements.