ABSTRACT

Social Identity explains 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.

chapter |16 pages

Identity Matters

chapter |12 pages

Similarity and Difference

chapter |10 pages

A Sign of the Times?

chapter |12 pages

Understanding Identification

chapter |11 pages

Selfhood and Mind

chapter |14 pages

Embodied Selves

chapter |16 pages

Entering the Human World

chapter |12 pages

Self-Image and Public Image

chapter |16 pages

Groups and Categories

chapter |14 pages

Beyond Boundaries

chapter |17 pages

Symbolising Belonging

chapter |8 pages

Uncertainty and Predictability

chapter |13 pages

Institutionalising Identification

chapter |15 pages

Organising Identification

chapter |17 pages

Categorisation and Consequences

chapter |7 pages

Identity and Modernity Revisited