Social Identity [Paperback]

Social Identityexplains how identification, seen as a social process, works: individually, interactionally and institutionally. Building on the international success of previous editions, this fourth edition offers a concise, comprehensive and readable critical introduction to social science theories of identity for advanced undergraduates and postgraduates. All the chapters have been updated, and extra new material has been added where relevant, integrating the most recent critical publications in the field.

As with the earlier editions, the emphasis is on sociology, anthropology and social psychology; on the interplay between relationships of similarity and difference; on interaction; on the categorisation of others as well as self-identification; and on power, institutions and organisations.

Written in clear, accessible language, and informed by relevant topical examples throughout, this fully updated new edition will be useful for students interested in social identity throughout the social sciences and humanities.

1. Identity Matters  2. Similarity and Difference  3. A Sign of the Times?  4. Understanding Identification  5. Selfhood and Mind  6. Embodied Selves  7. Entering the Human World  8. Self-Image and Public Image  9. Groups and Categories  10. Beyond Boundaries  11. Symbolising Belonging  12. Uncertainty and Predictability  13. Institutionalising Identification  14. Organising Identification  15. Categorisation and Consequences  16. Identity and Modernity Revisited

This is a sophisticated yet accessible introduction to the topic of social identity, in all its richness and complexity. Focusing less on what identity is than on how it works, Jenkins shows how identity emerges from the interplay of self-identification lS.