Theoretical perspectives on identity: social construction, cultural transitions, and social imaginaries
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.62452/ykyf9q36Keywords:
Identity, epistemology, theory, didactics of social sciencesAbstract
This study analyzes the various theoretical perspectives that have contributed to the conceptualization of identity in the field of social sciences, with the aim of understanding its complexity as an analytical category and its relevance in contemporary social processes. First, it examines contributions related to social representations and imaginaries, understood as symbolic frameworks that guide the interpretation of reality and the construction of shared meanings. Building on this, different approaches to identity are reviewed, highlighting its dynamic, relational, and socially constructed nature. The study also explores the relationship between identity and intercultural education, emphasizing the role of educational processes in shaping individual and collective identities in culturally diverse contexts. In addition, it analyzes research on identity transitions, which helps explain the transformations individuals experience throughout their life trajectories. It draws on both classical and contemporary sociological contributions regarding the process of individualization, as well as the concept of individuation from a macrosociological perspective linked to singularized society. Finally, it reflects on the notion of an individualized society, in which identity is understood as an open-ended process resulting from the interaction between social structures, cultural contexts, and biographical experiences.
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