Identity, Positioning and Self-Other Relations

Eleni Andreouli

Eleni Andreouli London School of Economics and Political Science

Abstract

This paper contributes to our understanding of the relation between social representations and identity using the concept of position. For this purpose two conceptualisations of the terms position and positioning are explored: Duveen's theorisation of identity as a position towards a social representation and positioning theory's concept of positions as discursive achievements. It is argued that the two conceptualisations can be integrated to provide a clearer view of the impact of recognition and legitimacy in identity processes. This claim is supported by a case study derived from an interview study on naturalisation and identity in the United Kingdom.

Author Biography

Eleni Andreouli, London School of Economics and Political Science

ELENI ANDREOULI has studied Psychology in Athens. She has completed an MSc
in Social Psychology in 2005 at the Institute of Social Psychology, LSE. She is currently undertaking her PhD on national identity and citizenship in the UK at the London School of Economics and Political Science. Her main research interests lie in the fields of social representations, identity, nationalism, citizenship, immigration and integration in multicultural societies.