Aspects of identity construction in the context of globalization

• Author: Coposescu, S.
• Position: Faculty of Sociology and Communication, Transilvania University of Brasov
• Pages: 19-24

Bulletin of the Transilvania University of Braşov

Series VII: Social Sciences • Law • Vol. 4 (53) No. 2 - 2011

ASPECTS OF IDENTITY CONSTRUCTION

IN THE CONTEXT OF GLOBALIZATION

Silviu COPOSESCU1

Abstrac t: The paper focuses on p roblems of ind ividual and s ocial

identit y-construct ion in the con text of globaliza tion. Th e author analyse s

the concep t of iden tity from an interdiscipl inary and modern and post-

modern perspe ctives. As a conclu sion the author claims that a ne w

approac h s trategy of defining and int erpreting ident ity in the epoch of

globali zation is nec essary in orde r to explain and understand the social

changes at local, regional an d world leve ls.

Key wo rds: ide ntity, iden tity crisis, globalizati on, social c hanges.

1 Faculty of Sociology and Communication, Transilvania University of Braşov.

1. Identity and change

Paraphrasing the English poet and

essayist T.S. Eliot, in a changing world

there is one thing that remains unchanged,

the continuous struggle between Good and

Evil. But as David Massey [1] observes

there are still other things that do not

change. For example, the never-ending

longing for identity that grows as times

change. And the 21-st century seems to be

the epoch of globalization and of changing

times. In this context of profound and

accelerated changes, individuals, groups

and (small as well as large) communities

are fearfully and hopefully searching for

their identity. Identity is present – whether

explicitly or not – on the lips of ordinary

people, in the halls of governmental

offices, in the seminar rooms, in the social

science research laboratories and among

the topics of international conferences.

These common sense observations

suggest th at identity is perceived at

different l evels and in various manners as

an issue of our times. ‘Identity has become

one of the unifying frameworks of

intellectual debate in the 1990s’, states

Richard Jenkins [2]. He notices that

everybody has an opinion on identity:

sociologists, anthropologists, political

theorists, psychologists, historians,

philosophers, etc. Moreover, identity is not

only a topic of intellectual debates but a

practical issue as well. Business people

have understood that in order to sell goods

and services it is necessary to sell an

‘identity’ as well. Purchasing a new

product means a new brand. Thus, identity

is constructed and purchased in corner

shops, in school, at the workplace, during

business trips or holidays, in families or

groups of friends. A n ew brand (new

dressing style, new diet, new hair style,

new interior design, new job, new

organisation, new group of friends, etc.)

means a change with regard to the time

and the others. Consequently, i dentities

change: new id entities occur, the

traditional ones are revived, or the existing

ones are transformed (de-constructed and

re-constructed). However identity is not