Social identity work in storytelling

Author(s):  
Heiko Hausendorf
Hypatia ◽  
1992 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 77-93 ◽  
Author(s):  
Annie Pritchard

Sophocles's Antigone continues to attract attention for its portrayal of the themes of moral agency and sexual difference. In this paper I argue that the contradictory factors which constitute Antigone's social identity work against the possibility of assessing her actions as either “virtuous” or not. I challenge readings of the play which suggest either that individual moral agency is sexually neutral or that women's action is necessarily and simply in direct opposition to the interests of the public sphere.


2002 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 173-179 ◽  
Author(s):  
Heiko Hausendorf

Author(s):  
Laura Morgan Roberts ◽  
Stephanie J. Creary

Navigating the self is critical for working in a diverse world, in which different identities interact in social space. This chapter presents five theoretical perspectives on how individuals navigate the self in diverse organizational contexts—social identity, critical identity, (role) identity, narrative-as-identity, and identity work. We review these five prominent theoretical perspectives on identity processes in diverse contexts to explicate various ways in which individuals actively participate in the co-construction of their identities in diverse contexts. As a next step in research, identity, diversity, and relationship scholars are encouraged to inquire into the generativity of proposed tactics for navigating the self in order to identify pathways for cultivating more positive identities in diverse work settings. The examination of positive relational identities is considered a promising path for further inquiry in this domain.


2013 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 27-37 ◽  
Author(s):  
Samantha Murphy ◽  
Hilary Thomas

This paper explores how parents respond to their memories of their stillborn child over the years following their loss. When people die after living for several years or more, their family and friends have the residual traces of a life lived as a basis for an identity that may be remembered over a sustained period of time. For the parent of a stillborn child there is no such basis and the claim for a continuing social identity for their son or daughter is precarious. Drawing on interviews with the parents of 22 stillborn children, this paper explores the identity work performed by parents concerned to create a lasting and meaningful identity for their child and to include him or her in their families after death. The paper draws on Finch's (2007) concept of family display and Walter's (1999) thesis that links continue to exist between the living and the dead over a continued period. The paper argues that evidence from the experience of stillbirth suggests that there is scope for development for both theoretical frameworks.


2018 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 205630511876881 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jordan Eschler ◽  
Amanda Menking

As a performance venue, online social spaces afford users a variety of ways to express themselves. Many of these expressions include social identity work, such as the articulation, affirmation, or policing of a shared identity. In this study, we examine one online space in which users engage in social identity work: a Reddit forum (r/starterpacks) that primarily generates and discusses image memes of a very specific format: the “starter pack.” Users leverage these image memes to convey what we refer to in this article as prototypes of social identities. Many of these prototypical depictions are necessarily influenced by offline social groups and/or consumer culture, and are furthermore constructed around gendered, racial, or ethnic stereotypes. To understand how these image memes are used to form and perpetuate prototypes of social identities, we employed content analysis to evaluate a sample of 500 image meme artifacts created, shared, and upvoted by the subreddit’s users. We discuss the process of applying visual analysis techniques to articulate themes identified in the image meme expressions, in particular: (1) the default of the White, male identity in starter pack characterizations; (2) the production of oppressive social identities through the use of visual and textual content; and (3) the dedication to a stance of “consumption” in assembling starter pack memes, both through body politics expressed therein and use of consumer goods in images. Finally, we draw on reader response theory to frame the challenges of researchers “reading” starter pack memes, despite employing systematic methods of analysis.


2000 ◽  
Vol 31 (4) ◽  
pp. 191-203 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kelly S. Fielding ◽  
Michael A. Hogg

Summary: A social identity model of effort exertion in groups is presented. In contrast to most traditional research on productivity and performance motivation, the model is assumed to apply to groups of all sizes and nature, and to all membership contingent norms that specify group behaviors and goals. It is proposed that group identification renders behavior group-normative and encourages people to behave in line with group norms. The effect should be strengthened among people who most need consensual identity validation from fellow members, and in intergroup contexts where there is inescapable identity threat from an outgroup. Together these processes should encourage people to exert substantial effort on behalf of their group.


2013 ◽  
Vol 44 (6) ◽  
pp. 361-372 ◽  
Author(s):  
Natascha de Hoog

The underlying process of reactions to social identity threat was examined from a defense motivation perspective. Two studies measured respondents’ social identification, after which they read threatening group information. Study 1 compared positive and negative group information, attributed to an ingroup or outgroup source. Study 2 compared negative and neutral group information to general negative information. It was expected that negative group information would induce defense motivation, which reveals itself in biased information processing and in turn affects the evaluation of the information. High identifiers should pay more attention to, have higher threat perceptions of, more defensive thoughts of, and more negative evaluations of negative group information than positive or neutral group information. Findings generally supported these predictions.


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