classifications and social identity What have you learnt thus far about your identity and/or that of others from this module? Use extracts from at least the last two

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What have you learnt thus far about your identity and/or that of others from this module? Use extracts from at least the last two patches/sets of blogs to develop your argument, in addition to the relevant literatures on identity, classification and ‘race’ and/or ‘racialisation’, to answer this question. If you are using blogs, then you might want to reflect on others’ identities in their contributions to your collaborative blogs as well as your own.

In this essay I intend to look at the ways in which we ourselves develop our identities, and view the identities of others around us. In order to produce and identify a true picture of this aim, I will approach my views from both a personal and a broad perception. Identity is a socially produced construct, in a constant state of flux, “a ‘production’ which is never complete, always in process”. (Hall, 1990 cited Weedon, p.1) We are influenced, if not consciously, by all that happens around us.  I will endeavour to consider, and link together the ways in which our identities are shaped by classifications, the media, race and racialisations and in effect provide an insight into how important these forces are in the ways we are influenced to distinguish our own identities.  

Having always been quite confident and a quite reflective person, I began the module already being aware of much of what I needed to know about my identity and myself as an individual. Who I am, what I do and my role within society: as a mixed raced female, a student and as an individual. I therefore used module not to personally discover my identity, but to develop and reinforce it by engaging in discussions with other students, exchanging different ideas and perspectives on topics including race, gender, class and identity.

My identity I presumed was nothing complicated, it has been formed over the years and is complete, stable and says everything about me as I person. I shaped and developed my own identity and therefore I thought my identity was not really part of any bigger process but just created by me, myself and I. After completing the first two to three weeks of the module I began to realise that my initial thoughts on myself and my identity which were self- assured, were actually really narrow perspectives with no element of change or difference in regards to what I though of myself, I had no consideration of different forces in society which actually do shape my identity and how I see my self in relation to me as an individual and where I stand as a person in society.

The notion of social identity is individuals'  of themselves as members of particular  -- such as Nation, Social class, Subculture, Ethnicity, Gender, Employment, and so forth. It is in this sense which sociologists and historians speak of a national identity of a particular country, and  and  speak of .

Social Identity is composed of three elements:

  • : We often put others (and ourselves) into categories. Labeling someone e.g. as a , a  or a .
  • : We also associate with certain  (our ingroups), which serves to bolster our .
  • : We compare our groups with other groups, seeing a favorable bias toward the group to which we belong.

Many people feel pride in their identity groups, which furthers a sense of community and belonging. Often they will attempt to add to their identity by behaving in certain ways that have only a superficial connection, often the behaviour wasn't even established within the group, but through the Stereotypes of Oppressors. Identity has been a central element of pride in  such as gay pride or black consciousness, which seek to strengthen politically oppressed groups by improving members' sense of identity. However, many consider a national or ethnic identity as a cultural background for demagogy, ethnic and religious conflicts, and the like.

It is suggested that social identities are produced and our society provides us with the capacity to produce our identities. The first part of the course enabled me to look into identity and the processes which help shape and form our individual identities, by looking at classifications and applying different ideas and theories of classifications I was able to relate this to the formation of my own identity.

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Classifications are all about our society and our lives which consists of invisible systems which exist in society and which we are all subject to. We define ourselves and those around us through existing frameworks provided by society. It is suggested that our identities are ‘ordinarily invisible’ Bowker and Star (2000). Taking this further into consideration, their definition of classification suggests that we as human beings place ourselves, objects and others into certain categories. The categories which are created are often imbricated in our lives and are ordinarily invisible. When considering certain categories, which are created by ourselves and ...

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