Identity and Culture: Narratives of Difference and Belonging (Issues in Cultural and Media Studies)

Where does our sense of identity and belonging come from? How does culture produce and challenge identities? "Identity and Culture" looks at how different cultural narratives and practices work to constitute identity for individuals and groups in multi-ethnic, 'postcolonial' societies. It uses examples from history, politics, fiction and the visual to examine the social power relations that create subject positions and forms of identity. It analyses how cultural texts and practices offer new forms of identity and agency that subvert dominant ideologies. This book encompasses issues of class, race, and gender, with a particular focus on the mobilization of forms of ethnic identity in societies still governed by racism. It a key text for students in cultural studies, sociology of culture, literary studies, history, race and ethnicity studies, media and film studies, and gender studies.