The god of small things and the question of identity

mattos-parreira, merja

http://hdl.handle.net/10400.1/2875

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mattos-parreira, merja

Abstract(s)

Over the recent years, we have witnessed a proliferation of studies focusing on the concept of identity. We hear a great deal about identity at global, national, local and personal levels, be it a Serbia militia man's cigarette brand, Madonna's transformation from a female Marquis de Sade to a spiritual Mother Earth or the identity of a victim of the tyranny of slenderness that is being analysed. Yet, in these studies focusing on different "natures" or "spheres" of identity construction, two common and shared assumptions can be pointed out: first of all, identities as effects of socialising institutions are historically determined and therefore change through time, and any essentialist claims of a unified, clear or authentic identity are denied.