Reseñas proporcionadas por Syndetics

CHOICE Review

Critical thinking about self and identity has become fashionable among social psychologists in recent years, as evidenced in Self and Identity, ed. by Krysia Yardley and Terry Honess (1987); Michael R. Wood and Louis A. Zurcher's The Development of a Postmodern Self (1988); and Society and Identity, ed. by Andrew Weigert, J. Smith Teitge, and Dennis W. Teitge (1986). This volume, edited by two highly respected and active scholars, is exceptional in its successful incorporation of an interdisciplinary perspective and in its electicism. Outstanding among the general background chapters are Edward E. Sampson's discussion of a variety of critical approaches to the individualism of North American social psychology and the assumption of a unitary self, and Ian Parker's application of the ever popular work of Foucault to current critiques of social psychology. There are several useful discussions of the centrality of language for understanding conceptions of self and identity. Chapters by Kenneth T. Gergen and by Celia Kitzinger articulate well the assertion that identities are social constructions, suppressed or promoted in accord with dominant political interests. John Shotter's discussion of how identity is located within the general communication of everyday life illustrates a basic symbolic interactionist theme. Several chapters rely too heavily on the often impenetrable jargon characteristic of research in this area, notable among them Rom Harre's discussion of language games. Although not well connected to the collection, Khachig Tolylyan's discussion of the social construction of the motivation of terrorists is a fascinating challenge to Western conceptions of this type of political action. The primary weakness of this volume is the almost total absence of integrative discussion. Given the diversity of these chapters, the lack of integrative material is a serious drawback. Nonetheless, this is a highly valuable collection, appropriate for graduate students and faculty.