Routledge Handbook of Identity Studies
Edited by Anthony Elliott
Routledge – 2011 – 408 pages
The Routledge Handbook of Identity Studies offers an exceptionally clear overview of the analysis of identity in the social sciences, and in so doing seeks to develop a new agenda for identity-studies in the twenty-first century.
The key theories of identity, ranging from classical accounts to postmodern, psychoanalytic and feminist approaches, are drawn together and critically appraised, and there are substantive sections looking at racial, ethnic, gendered, queer, consumerist, virtual and global identities.
The Handbook also makes an essential contribution to the debate now opening up over identity-politics and its cultural consequences. From anti-globalization protestors to new ecological warriors, from devotees of therapy culture to defenders of international human rights: the culture of identity-politics is fast redefining the public political sphere. What future for politics is there after the turn to identity?
Throughout there is a strong emphasis on interdisciplinarity with essays covering sociology, psychology, politics, cultural studies and history. The Handbook’s clear and direct style will appeal to a wide undergraduate audience in the social sciences and humanities.
"This compelling look at identity and its implications contributes to understanding a broad range of topics, including culture, environment, sexuality, gender, and politics. Elliott (sociology, Flinders Univ., Australia) brings together essays addressing many of the complexities of identity, among them the challenge of defining identity and the distinction between individual self and social self. The volume begins with a complex but intriguing discussion of the existence of "pure" identity. This is followed by an informative review of the history of identity studies. Contributors present systematic evaluations of various relevant questions of identity, addressing history, significant contributors, major ideas, and directions for future research. This collection presents identity as a "riddle of life" that is important for understanding life yet impossible to truly decipher. The collection acknowledges identity as a topic that is at the core of all existence, studied by many yet still barely understood. The international group of contributors includes both established and rising scholars. This is an important addition to the literature. Summing Up: Highly recommended" - Choice Magazine
Editor's Introduction by Anthony Elliott Part 1: Theories of Identity 1. A History of Identity: The Riddle at the Heart of the Mystery of Life by Charles Lemert 2. Historical and Intellectual Development of Topic by Ann Branaman 3. Identity after Psychoanalysis by Stephen Frosh 4. Foucaultian Approaches to the Self by Gavin Kendall 5. The Fragmentation of Identity: Post-structuralist and Postmodern Theories by Sam Han 6. Reflexive Identities by Daniel Chaffee 7. Individualization by Cosmo Howard 8. New Identities, New Individualism by Eric L. Hsu Part 2: The Analysis of Identity 9. Transformations of Working Identities: Labour and the Self by Daniel Mendelson 10. Identity, Race and Ethnicity by Anthony Moran 11. Gendered Identities by Mary Holmes 12. Media and Identity by Nick Stevenson 13. Virtual Identities: From Decentred to Distributed Selves by Sam Han 14. Consumer Identities by Roberta Sassatelli 15. Identity, Mortality and Death by Tamara Waraschinski and Charles Lemert Part 3: Identity-politics and its Consequences 16. Sexual Identity Politics: Activism from Gay to Queer and Beyond by Mark Casey 17. Environmentalism and Identity Politics by Eileen M. McGurty 18. Black Freedom Struggles and African American Identity by David Stein 19. The Politics of Islamic Identities by Sundas Ali 20. Indigenous Identities: From Colonialism to Post-Colonialism by Anthony Moran 21. Anti-Globalization and Resistance Identities by Catherine Eschle 22. Identity-Politics in the Global Age by Giogrio Shani
Anthony Elliott is Professor of Sociology, Flinders University, Australia; Visiting Research Professor at the Open University, UK and Visiting Professor at University College Dublin, Ireland. A specialist in the field of identity studies, Professor Elliott’s related books include Subject to Ourselves, 2e (2004), Social Theory Since Freud (2004), The New Individualism (2005, with Charles Lemert), Concepts of the Self, 2e (2007), Making The Cut: How Cosmetic Surgery is Transforming Our Lives (2008), Identity in Question (2008, with Paul du Gay) and Mobile Lives (2010, with John Urry).