Identity is Everywhere ... but How Should We Study It?

Abstract

We have lots of identity around today. Social scientists study inclusive, exclusive, multiple and layered identities. Many Europeans talk of their European identity. Groups of people come together and create identitarian movements. And, of course, much of the Global North has developed a taste for inward-looking nationalism. All this 'motion' tells us something important - identities are in flux. Zeroing in on the processes, practices and politics of identity formation, I argue that a rigorous and disciplined pluralism - meta-theoretically, theoretically and methodologically - will provide new insights. In the real world, we wear our identities as both a sweater and a skin; our stories of identity formation need to reflect this simple fact.

Speaker

Jeffrey Checkel - European University Institute

Bio

Jeffrey T. Checkel is Chair in International Politics at the Social and Political Science Department, European University Institute. Before he held the Simons Chair in International Law and Human Security, at Simo Fraser University. He had previously taught at the University of Pittsburgh and the University of Oslo.
Checkel's research interests include international relations theory (domestic-international linkages, international institutions, constructivism, governance), conflict studies (civil war), European integration (Europeanization, identity) and qualitative methods (process tracing, bridging positivist-interpretive techniques). He has published broadly on these topics, including four books from Cambridge University Press and one volume from Yale University Press. At EUI, he offers seminars on international-relations theory; civil wars; the liberal order and identity politics; international institutions; qualitative methods; and philosophies of social science.