HandNotes:
The lecture will aim to introduce historical and contemporary conceptions of identity, to introduce Foucault‟s „discourse‟ methodology, and to place and critique contemporary practice within these frameworks, and to consider their validity. It will consider „postmodern‟ theories of identity as „fluid‟ and „constructed‟ (in particular based on the theories of Zygmunt Bauman), and consider identity today, especially in the digital domain.
Traditional approaches to identity
The concept of ESSENTIALISM (traditional approach) suggests that our biological make up makes us who we are, and that we all have an inner essence out of which our identities form. Post-Modern theorists are ANTI- ESSENTIALIST and disagree.
Phases of identities
According to Douglas Kellner in Media Culture: Cultural Studies, Identity and Politics between the Modern and the Postmodern (1992), there are three
phases of identity:
pre modern identity – personal identity is stable – defined by long standing roles
Modern identity – modern societies begin to offer a wider range of social roles, with the possibility to start „choosing‟ your identity, rather than simply being born into it. People start to „worry‟ about who they are
Post-modern identity – accepts a „fragmented „self‟. Identity is constructed
Pre-modern Identity
Accepted institutions within society determined „secure‟ identities, from which it was difficult to break free, for example Marriage, The Church, monarchy, Government, the State, Work.
The lecture will aim to introduce historical and contemporary conceptions of identity, to introduce Foucault‟s „discourse‟ methodology, and to place and critique contemporary practice within these frameworks, and to consider their validity. It will consider „postmodern‟ theories of identity as „fluid‟ and „constructed‟ (in particular based on the theories of Zygmunt Bauman), and consider identity today, especially in the digital domain.
Traditional approaches to identity
The concept of ESSENTIALISM (traditional approach) suggests that our biological make up makes us who we are, and that we all have an inner essence out of which our identities form. Post-Modern theorists are ANTI- ESSENTIALIST and disagree.
Phases of identities
According to Douglas Kellner in Media Culture: Cultural Studies, Identity and Politics between the Modern and the Postmodern (1992), there are three
phases of identity:
pre modern identity – personal identity is stable – defined by long standing roles
Modern identity – modern societies begin to offer a wider range of social roles, with the possibility to start „choosing‟ your identity, rather than simply being born into it. People start to „worry‟ about who they are
Post-modern identity – accepts a „fragmented „self‟. Identity is constructed
Pre-modern Identity
Accepted institutions within society determined „secure‟ identities, from which it was difficult to break free, for example Marriage, The Church, monarchy, Government, the State, Work.
Role
Farm-worker ..........
The Soldier .......
The Factory Worker... The Housewife......
The Gentleman.... Husband-Wife (family).....
Farm-worker ..........
The Soldier .......
The Factory Worker... The Housewife......
The Gentleman.... Husband-Wife (family).....
Related institutional agency with vested interest
landed gentry
The state
Industrial capitalism patriarchy patriarchy Marriage/church
landed gentry
The state
Industrial capitalism patriarchy patriarchy Marriage/church
Foucault – Discourse Analysis
Foucault suggests that Identity is constructed out of the discourses culturally available to us. What is a discourse ?
„... a set of recurring statements that define a particular cultural „object‟ (e.g., madness, criminality, sexuality) and provide concepts and terms through which such an object can be studied and discussed.‟ Cavallaro, (2001)
Postmodern Identity
Postmodern theorists suggest that Identity is constructed through our social experience.
In The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life (1959) Erving Goffman suggests that life is „theatre‟, made up of „encounters‟ and „performances‟. For Goffman the self is a series of facades
Zygmunt Bauman proposes that Postmodern Identity is „liquid‟, that is something that we can change and affect deliberately and at will.
„Yes, indeed, “identity” is revealed to us only as something to be invented rather than discovered; as a target of an effort, “an objective”‟
„“Identity” is a hopelessly ambiguous idea and a double-edged sword. It may be a war-cry of individuals, or of the communities that wish to be imagined by them. At one time the edge of identity is turned against “collective pressures” by individuals who resent conformity and hold dear their own ways of living (which “the group” would decry as prejudices) and their own ways of living (which “the group” would condemn as cases of “deviation” or “silliness”, but at any rate of abnormality, needing to be cured or punished‟
Bauman (2004), Identity, page 76
„“Society” ...reminds one of a particularly shrewd, cunning and pokerfaced player in the game of life, cheating if given a chance, flouting rules whenever possible‟
Bauman (2004), Identity, page 52
Foucault suggests that Identity is constructed out of the discourses culturally available to us. What is a discourse ?
„... a set of recurring statements that define a particular cultural „object‟ (e.g., madness, criminality, sexuality) and provide concepts and terms through which such an object can be studied and discussed.‟ Cavallaro, (2001)
Postmodern Identity
Postmodern theorists suggest that Identity is constructed through our social experience.
In The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life (1959) Erving Goffman suggests that life is „theatre‟, made up of „encounters‟ and „performances‟. For Goffman the self is a series of facades
Zygmunt Bauman proposes that Postmodern Identity is „liquid‟, that is something that we can change and affect deliberately and at will.
„Yes, indeed, “identity” is revealed to us only as something to be invented rather than discovered; as a target of an effort, “an objective”‟
„“Identity” is a hopelessly ambiguous idea and a double-edged sword. It may be a war-cry of individuals, or of the communities that wish to be imagined by them. At one time the edge of identity is turned against “collective pressures” by individuals who resent conformity and hold dear their own ways of living (which “the group” would decry as prejudices) and their own ways of living (which “the group” would condemn as cases of “deviation” or “silliness”, but at any rate of abnormality, needing to be cured or punished‟
Bauman (2004), Identity, page 76
„“Society” ...reminds one of a particularly shrewd, cunning and pokerfaced player in the game of life, cheating if given a chance, flouting rules whenever possible‟
Bauman (2004), Identity, page 52
Objectives; It's good to talk
- clarify how creativity is talked about
Threads
Introduction the blank sheet project
Genealogy a history of the term creativity
Aesthetics philosophy of creativity
Education facilitating creativity
Contemporary global discourses and practices
'Different artists often have quite divergent conceptions of what they are doing'
Illustrated; The Blank Sheet Project
- Rutger Hauer
- Sir John Hegarty
- Renzo Rosso
- Neville Brody
- Kati Howe 28/11/12
Creative flow
- The Blank Sheet Project: Rutger Hauer - Ch. 1: I Almost Gave Up Acting
- clarify how creativity is talked about
Threads
Introduction the blank sheet project
Genealogy a history of the term creativity
Aesthetics philosophy of creativity
Education facilitating creativity
Contemporary global discourses and practices
'Different artists often have quite divergent conceptions of what they are doing'
Illustrated; The Blank Sheet Project
- Rutger Hauer
- Sir John Hegarty
- Renzo Rosso
- Neville Brody
- Kati Howe 28/11/12
Creative flow
- The Blank Sheet Project: Rutger Hauer - Ch. 1: I Almost Gave Up Acting
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